True light
by My Harlequin Romance
Summary: Kai's children have always wanted a way to prove themselves for Eoral.Can they reached the shrine of the great flame god Dranzer and defeat Zeus, or will things fall apart? Sequel to Royal Blood
1. Chapter 1

_Okie dokie peeps, here we go. (crackles knuckles) I have been itching to do this since the idea came to me. You've wanted to read it, so here I go. The sequel to your favourtie story, __**Royal blood**__. Before I get down to the story... _

(Alexandra Hiwatari appears) Alexandra: My Harlequin romance does not own Beyblade. She doesn't own Fate or Faith, who belong to CC Queen. MHR does however own me, my brother, May-lin, my mother Jemma and Gerard. Plus anyone else who doesn't appear in beyblade.

_Thank you Alex-chan. On with the show!

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**True Light**

_It had been many years since the war of the phoenixs. Those longs years without Prince Kai had taken it toll on the land of Eoral. When Kai had won the war, the rains returned to the fair land. Eoral began to grow and return to its old ways. _

_The Prince began to his rule no sooner had he returned from the war. Eoral and other towns welcomed their new king with open arms but one thing troubled them all. Kai's marriage to the demon, Jemma Aeris Scott. Because of recent trouble with demons, the townsfolk were wary of Jemma. However, once they learnt Jemma's true place as Kai's companion and Queen, they too accepted her. The King began to bring certain things from his foster world into Eoral. These things benefitted the whole kingdom as they improved the living condictions of the townsfolk. _

_Years passed and news of the Queen bearing children had spred like wildfire. Queen Jemma was about to give birth to twins which worried a lot of people. Twins meant that kingdoms and families were torn apart. Kai and Jemma already knew the fate of their children. The oldest twin was to be the heir of the kingdom of Eoral, while the youngest was to become heir of the demon world. This way the family would remain together and both worlds would be at peace. _

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Gerard Xun Kingston sighed and pulled his hood higher onto his head.

It wasn't as if he was ashamed of going anyway, it was because some people just didn't trust his family. Gerard was the only son of May-lin and Brooklyn Kingston. Like his parents, he had learnt the ways of the white mage. Gerard loved his parnets, really he did. However other people did not share the same love.

Brooklyn was marked by the dark god Zeus. There were only a few worshippers of Zeus in the past, until it was forbidden to worship the dark god. The sole reason was becasue Zeus had caused many deaths. The dark god had all but been forgotten until the day his spirit found Brooklyn who was only six at the time. Every since then Brooklyn had been marked. When Gerard had been born, he too had been marked. Zeus prefered Brooklyn to the Gerard, so his hold on the youngest male was little. Gerard and his mother feared for Brooklyn's heath.

Brooklyn was not feeling to good that day and May-lin had run out of a herb called _Blood Root_. She gave her only son 2 gold pieces and sent him off to the Eoral market. Gerard had darted off from their house, which was stationed in the middle of a large forest, and had arrived just in time. The stalls were just opening. Gerard took a back ally to go the herb stall when a stone was thrown at him. Gerard caught it. He was tempted to crush it, but thought against it. He knew who had thrown it.

"I thought I told you never to come here again freak!" someone hissed. Before Gerard could take another step, a local gang of kids appeared. Gerard groaned a little.

"I only came here to get something for my mother." Gerard replied from under his hood. The leader of the gang, a tall boy with short hair, stepped forward and yanked the hood off of Gerard's head. The gang whispered amoungest themselves. Gerard had wild hair, much like his father's, which was dark purple in colour. His eyes were the most shocking as he had one forest green eye and one ice blue eye.

"I don't care. Eoral doesn't need freaks like you." The leader spat and pushed Gerard hard. The 2 gold pieces fell to the floor. Gerard scrambled to get them, but the gang had already claimed them as their own. "Where did you get that freak? You steal it?"

Gerard growled. "Give it back! I need that money to buy some herbs for my mother!" Gerard yelled. His white outfit was already muddy, including the dark grey jacket his father had given him for his birthday. The leader grabbed Gerard round the throat.

"Or what?" he sneered. Gerard was about to punch him hard, but another voice cut through the chaos.

_"I suggest you let him go now!"_

The leader turned round only to have a fist smack him in the cheek. Gerard dropped to the floor and quickly charged into the leader, knocking him to the floor. The gang looked the new comer over. The figure was a young girl, a little shorter then Gerard. She had dark blue hair done up in to plaits and deep crimson red eyes. She wour a green tank top that matched her green shorts and green trainers. A dark green head-band kept the girl's bangs out of her eyes. The gang stumbled back.

"Give Gerard his money back now!" The girl ordered. The leader nodded to the group who quickly handed the gold pieces over. The girl grabbed the leader round the neck and slammed him against the wall. "If I _ever_ catch you causing trouble for Gerard again, I will have you all thrown into jail. Understood?" the girl hissed. The leader nodded his head but the girl was not happy. "Understood!" she barked.

"Y-y-yes your highness!" the leader whimpered. The girl dropped the leader and watched the gang run off. Gerard counted his money and slipped it into his pocket.

"Thanks for that Alex." he smiled. Princess Alexandra Serenity Hiwatari, the youngest daughter of Kai and Jemma, turned to face the white mage and smiled back.

"No problem Gee. What you doing out here on market day anyway?" the princess inquried. Gerard explained about his father's condiction that morning and what his mother wanted him to do. Alex nodded her head and tapped her chin. Suddenly she fished around in the pocket of her shorts and pulled out another 2 gold pieces. "Here. Now you have 4 gold pieces. You can get 2 grams of Blood root now." Alex stated, smiling once more. Gerard returned the smile, grateful he was friends with such a wonderful and thoughtful girl.

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Christopher Foma Hiwatari sighed and placed his pen down. For 2 hours straight he had been studying hard in his own study room. Unlike his sister, Chris was the more mature of the two. Chris was 5 seconds older then his twin, and in all sense really didn't look anything like her. Chris had wild two-tone hair and dark purple eyes. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a white shirt. His tie had been long cast onto the other chair.

Chris was studying for a Japanese test. The oldest twin wanted to expand his horizons as it were and the Japanese lessons where paying off. Alex, however, picked up phrase from her brother as she over heard his lessons. Chris rubbed his eyes before getting up. He headed towards the door of the study, thinking over what books he needed. Opening the door, Chris listened hard for any sound of his sister. He headed nothing which meant she was outside again.

Chris continued on his way to the library when he came across a large painting in the hall. The painting was of Chris and Alex, but there was something strange about it. Chris and Alex were back to back and both had their eyes closed. They both wour armour, Chris' being Red and gold and Alex's being black and gold. Chris had one hand held out and in his palm was a tiny phoenix. This was a sign for Eoral. Alex also had her hand held out but in her palm was a tiny demon. This was a sign for the demon world.

Chris wondered if it had anything to do with their future. _Don't be stupid. If you were meant to rule Eoral, you would have gone to the shrine ages ago._ Chris scolded himself before carrying on to the library. Both twins had heard from their grandfather, The Grim Reaper, that Kai had traveled to the shrine when he was 17. The twins were 17 now and still their father had not given the word about the shrine. Chris sighed and stopped at the library. _Perhaps we are not meant to go yet._ he mumbled before stepping inside the library.

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Fate Anya Ivanov watched the prince as he entered the library. She was sitting in the courtyard, watching the other students going through the daily lessons. It wasn't as if it bored fate. Everything about fighting and war interested her greatly. It was just Fate had already passed the exam and was one the youngest member of the palace guards, along with Bryan's daughter Nina. Her father, Tala Ivanov was good friends with the Capatin, Bryan and had pulled some strings for his only daughter.

Tala had married a female hybrid wolf by the name of Faith Anna Roskov. She too had a loyal wolf companion named Blaze. Where as tala and Wolborg could control Ice, Faith and Blaze could control Fire. Which left Fate at a stand-still. Which element to control? In the end, the youngest hybrid decided to study power Ice and fire, which then ended in her controlling water. Three magic attacks were all Fate needed in the long run. She had proved to both the teacher and the other students of school, she was a good enough fighter. And like her parnets, the young pup could turn into a wolf.

Fate had long honey blond hair which had a slight bounce in it and ice blue eyes, which could almost pass as white at a long distance. Fate had never been born a blond, instead she had black hair like her mother. Fate wanted to stand out a little and chosen blond to dye her hair. No-one dared to call her dumb blond, lest you wanted your arm pulled out of it's socket. fate sighed as she watched Chris leave the library. She had been friends with both the prince and princess, since her father was a personally bodyguard of the King and Queen. She knew Chris had been looking at the painting again. It confused everyone about the meaning, but Fate had never really thought about it.

"Fate?"

The said pup turned to see Bryan's daughter Nina. Her light purple hair and pale skin tone was not that hard to miss. She too had passed the exam and was also a palace guard at the age of 16. "What's up Nina?" Fate asked, turning her body completely away from the window of the castle. Nina sat down next to her, watching the other students. She missed having to do all the training but loved where her life was going now.

"My father is wondering where the princess is. Have you seen her?" she inquried. Fate tapped her chin.

"I don't think so. I haven't seen Alex all day. Sorry." she replied with a shake of her head. Inside fate was smiling. _Never one to stay in the palace all day. Outside again as usual. Most likey with that White Mage._ Fate chuckled.

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Alex stood by the gate of the city and watched Gerard head off home. The white mage pulled his hood over his head, turned and waved. When Alex returned the wave, Gerard turned back round and took off.

"Looks like he got into a spot of bother."

Alex smiled and looked up to the Guard. Spencer's face had a few wrinkles on and his blond hair was showing signs of grey. However Spncer was still as fit as he ever been and no-one dared to start trouble around him. "Yeah. That group of kids again. I threatened to throw them in jail if anything like that happened again." Alex replied. She scratched the back of her neck.

"How's Fate and Nina?" Spencer questioned, keeping an eye out for any trouble makers. Alex's smiled grew wider.

"They're great. Passed their exams and are now members of the palace guards." she informed. Spencer nodded his head. "I'd better get going. Papa and mother are gonna have a fit." Jemma chuckled, and darted off. She turned to wave at Spencer who return it.

"Good day your highness!" he called, before she completely disappeared. Alex darted through the crowded streets before coming to a small back alley. Alex pulled herself up and over the wall before landing on the soft grass of the palace.

_"Wouldn't it be easier just it open the front gates once in a while?"_

Alex tensed and spun round to come face to face with Fate. "Fate! Don't do that! I thought you were Chris." Alex scolded, a hand on her chest. Fate rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Not likely. Chris is still upstairs, studying." The two girls chuckled together as they made their way across the castle grounds and into the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to __**Jovanni **__and__** Birdsofprey9832**__ for their reviews._

_(Alexandra Hiwatari appears) Alex: I forget to mention in the disclaimer yesturday. (bows) I'm so sorry. MHR does not own Rin Kon or Makoto Granger for they appear in the offical beyblade manga._

_Arigatou Gozaimasu Alex-chan.

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Gerard had always beena fast and strong. 

It was one of the traits that came with being a Kingston. Speed from his mother, Strenght from his father. The white mage placed the small bag of Blood root in his pocket and eyed a low branch. It dipped low over a small river so crawling under it was a no good. Gerard took a few steps back before running and almost pole-vaulting himself over the branch. He landed on the dirt on the other side with a light _thump_ and then carried on his way.

Gerard looked up at the sky and noticed a pitch black cloud making clawing its way across the sky. In Eoral it was very rare if there was a thunderstorm or heavy rain. Gerard quickened his already fast speed. There was no way He wanted to be caught in the middle of a rain storm. As Gerard got closer to a clearing in the forest, he smiled when he saw his home. He jumped over a rock and began to jog over to his house when he noticed something was wrong.

His mother, May-lin Kingston, was running out of the house carrying a large white bundle.

"Mother?" Gerard called. May-lin stumbled and the bundle hit the dirt. It undid itself and her husband's armour and sword fell to the floor. Gerard ran over to her and gathered the stuff together. "Mother, what's wrong?" Gerard inquried as he tied the bundle back up. Slinging it over his shoulder, Gerard helped his mother up.

"It's your father. Zeus has taken control of his body." May-lin answered tearfully. Gerard stared at her in shock. "Brooklyn grabbed me, I swear he would have killed him but he didn't. Before Zeus took complete control, your father ordered me to take his armour and sword to Eoral with you. He told us to go straight to the King and Queen and we'll be safe there." May-lin informed.

There came a scream from the house and a deep rumble. Gerard watched a dark light fill the house, almost blinding him. "Come on Mother. We have to go now." Gerard urged, taking hold of his mother's hand. He led her into the forest and along to route he had taken only a few moments ago.

Suddenly something flew out through the roof of the house. Brooklyn held onto his head, trashing around and screaming. Two large black and white wings were seen on his back. The white was a sign that Brooklyn was not going to give up. However it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle as the black bled onto the white.

Zeus was winning.

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Alex ruffled her hair and smirked at her reflection in the mirror. Gone was the shorts and tank top. She knew that her mother and father didn't mind her dressing like that, but her brother did. He always told her act like a princess, which made them almost enemies on the matter. Alex didn't care. The way she saw it, Chris was certain to rule after their father. Alex dusted down her red and gold tartan skirt and smiled.

She headed outside hoping to find either Fate or Nina. The princess wanted to see how the other guard students were doing. However, Alex came across her brother looking over that painting again. "Nee-san, what are you doing?" Alex questioned with a frown. Chris glanced over to to his sister.

"Hey Alex. Had a good time round the town?" he questioned as Alex got closer. The younger twin huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

"For your information yes I did. Why are you looking at this painting again Nee-san? You're always here staring at it. Its like your obbsessed with the damn thing." She replied. Chris' light purple eyes returned to the painting and shrugged.

"I'm not sure why I keep staring at it Alex. It had something to do with our future, I know it does." he muttered. Alex rolled her eyes. She walked over to the window and stared out across the courtyard.

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. We're 17 now Chris. Papa would have told us what our future holds." Alex turned back to face her brother. "Anyway, what's the point in preparing for a future that might not even happen." she pointed out. Chris rolled his eyes at his sister, as Alex turned back to look out the window. "Hey? Is that Gerard?" she questioned suddenly. Chris darted to join her side.

"Yeah. And his mother. But what are they doing here?" he wondered. Alex was already running down the stairs, heading to the courtyard.

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Gerard doubled over to catch his breath. The armour was a lot heavier then he thought, not to mention the sword as well. His mother unable to stand any longer, flopped to the floor in a flurry of tears. Bryan glanced over to the two before noticing something was wrong. "Nina!" he called. His young daughter made her way over to him gracefully, her head held high.

"Yes Father?" she inquried. Bryan pointed to the students who were wondering what was going on.

"Take the group to their chambers. Quickly now." Bryan ordered. Nina saluted her father and took command quickly. It was easy to tell whoes daughter she was, when Nina gave a loud command. The students all stood to attention and quickly filed into the caslte. Bryan signalled for Spencer and Ian before darting off to Gerard and May-lin. "May-lin? What's wrong?" he inquried. May-lin was too torn up to speak so her son decided to.

"Zeus...has...taken over my...father's...body." he managed to get out between breaths. Bryan gasped in shock. Clearly this was a red alert. Bryan helped May-lin up as Alex, Spencer and Ian arrived.

"We're taking you to The King and Queen. They can sort this out." Bryan glanced over to Alex. "Princess, could you get your brother as well. I have a feeling he may need to hear this." Alex nodded her head and darted off to find Chris.

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Kai and Jemma, King and Queen of Eoral, had been deep in conversation about their children's future, when Bryan walked into the throne room. He stopped in front of the King and Queen and knelt down on one knee. "Your highness. There is something which needs your attention." he informed. Kai waved his hand which Bryan nodded at and called the group in. Alex and Chris joined their parnets, as Gerard and May-lin entered.

"May-lin? Are you okay?" Jemma questioned noticing how pale the female mage had gotten. May-lin shook her head and looked as though she was about to faint. Jemma turned her attention to Spencer. "Spencer, could you please fetch two chairs for our guests." she ordered. Spencer bowed and left the room.

"Gerard. What's going on? Where's Brooklyn?" Kai inquried. Gerard glanced down, biting his lip hard.

"Zeus took over his body your highness. My father gave mother instructions to bring his armour and sword, as well as me, to the castle." he replied. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. _This is all my fault! If I had delivered the Boot root in time, maybe this would have never have happened!_ Gerard cursed in his head. A hush had fallen over the room, before everyone noticed a cold wind blowing through.

_"That is a problem."_ The Grim Reaper frowned. Alex smiled widely and ran to hug her grandfather. Chris merely nodded a welcome. _"When did the transformation happen?"_ Death questioned. Gerard looked at May-lin. She twisted the hem of her skirt round her finger, her eyes shining with tears once more.

"This morning. Brooklyn complained of ill heath so I went to make him a potion in case is was Zeus. I found out I had no Blood Root left so I sent Gerard to get some. Brooklyn's temper was getting worst. I tied him to a chair like we had planned years ago. Only, Zeus made Brooklyn break through the bonds. He grabbed me by the arms and dug his nails in. I was sure He was going to kill me." May-lin paused to choke back a sob. The others could only guess how upsetting it was. "Brooklyn managed to gain control and told me to gather his armour and sword. He then said to take that and Gerard up to the caslte and tell the king and queen." she finished.

"What are we going to do? We can't let Zeus run around. He'll destory everything!" Alex squeaked. It was a understandment with everyone in the room, that it was not Brooklyn. For all they knew, brooklyn may still be trying to win the battle. Kai tapped his chin with his index finger, lost in thought.

"What about the shrine?"

Everyone turned to look at Chris. "What about the shrine Christopher?" Jemma questioned. Chris hated being called his full name, but kept his tongue in check.

"Perhaps Dranzer may have an idea about it all." he turned to face his father. "Father, it's the only option we have open to us." Chris pointed out. kai frowned a little and began to think it over.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to __**MaxieTate8392**__ and __**Jovanni**__ for reviewing once more! Arigatou Gozaimasu!

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Kai had been pacing for sometime, while the group went over any other options they had. "There are no other options!" Chris argued. Everyone looked at him as the prince of Eoral explained his point of view. "If we try to directly attack Zeus, we run the risk of harming Brooklyn as well." he pointed out. May-lin sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Kai turned to the group and nodded his head. 

"I have decided. Christopher and Alexandra will go the shrine of our great flame god." Kai looked at his daughter confused as she huffed and crossed her arms. "Alexandra? What's wrong?" he inquried. Alex turned away from her brother.

"I don't see why I should go since Chris is gonna be the future ruler here." Chris sighed loudly and turned his attention to his sister. Kai and Jemma looked at each other but Death knew what was coming up. Another reason why the twins were at odds.

"What do you mean Alex?" Chris questioned. Alex glared at her older brother.

"You damn well what I mean Nee-san! You're the oldest out of us so naturally the throne will go to you. I'm just left to do as I please, so I don't see why I should go to the shrine as well." Alex paused and closed her eyes. "Don't get me wrong. I want to help Brooklyn. Really I do. I just don't see the point in me going to the shrine. It's not like I'm gonna be the ruler here." Alex whispered sadly, her eyes at the floor. Jemma nodded at her husband and moved to hug her daughter.

"But Alexandra, you will be a ruler. You remember the painting in the hall on the way to the library?" Jemma paused as her daughter nodded her head. "That explains your fate. While Christopher will rule Eoral, you will rule the demon world. This way we have complete peace between the two." Jemma explained. Alex looked at her parnets before looking at her grandfather. The Grim Reaper nodded his head slowly.

"I see." Alex whispered again. A smile appeared on her face. "Okay then! I'll go." she grinned. Kai held his hand up.

"It's not that simple. You need up to six guardians to protect you on the journey. The journey is long and hard. It's the only way for Dranzer to test the resolve of the future ruler." kai explained. The twins nodded their head.

"I guess we can already count on each other to be a guardian, so that's one down." Alex muttered. Chris' eyes rolled over to Gerard. The prince eyed the small black diamond on Gerard's forehead, a sign that he was marked. Chris knew that they would need a white mage on the team, even if Alex and Chris were both red mages. _Besides_ Chris thought. _Gerard needs to do this. For his father._

"Gerard. Are you willing to join us?" Chris inquried. Gerard looked up suddenly, jolting out of his day-dream.

"M-me?" he stammered. Chris nodded his head. Gerard looked at his mother, who also nodded her head, then look at the armour. _The reason to why Father wanted Mother to take the armour and the sword. He wants me there to help defeat him._ Gerard concluded. He turned his sights back to the royal family and fell to one knee. "I will happily be a guardian for you your highness." he replied.

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Fate and Nina trained hard in the courtyard. Lessons for the other students had been canceled so the courtyard was left empty. Since there had been no word about May-lin or Gerard, the two youngest guards began to train. Nina had her own weapon while Fate used her own strenght. They spared for what seemed like ages, until Alex came running into the courtyard. The princess doubled over panting, watching the two for a little while longer.

"Hey Alex!" Fate called as she blocked a hit from above. Nina jumped back before bowing lowly.

"Greetings your highness. Is it okay if we continue with our training match?" she inquried. Alex nodded her head and flopped down onto the cold floor. Fate and Nina continued where they left off. Alex watched in amazement.

"Fate, can you be my guardian for a journey?" Alex called out. Fate called the training match off, much to Nina's disappointment and turned her sights to Alex.

"Me? A guardian?" Fate scratched the back of her neck. "Sure. I mean, I don't want anything happening to you. Where is this journey?" she inquried. Alex avoiding the hybrid pup's glance and stared hard at the sky. The black cloud from before had disappeared now. Everyone in Eoral had concluded it was a sign, a bad omen.

"A journey to the shrine of Dranzer. Me and Chris are going to claim our birth right." Alex informed, looking at Fate dead in the eye. Fate's jaw hit the ground, but she could tell that Alex had more to say. "Gerard's coming too. The whole reason why we're going is to...well...you've heard what's happened to Brooklyn right?" Alex asked. Fate nodded her head. "Good. Well, we're going to the shrine to find out how to save Brooklyn." Alex finished.

"All well and good your highness, but who will rule Eoral. You both can't." Nina pointed out. She rested against her weapon, a long wooden staff. Alex stood up and dusted her backside down.

"True. Chris will rule Eoral. I will rule the demon world."

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Zeus slowly landed on a branch of a tall tree and over looked Eoral. "So this is what Eoral looks like? I haven't seen this place since my imprisonment." Zeus muttered. Wind ruffled Zeus' light brown hair. It was flecked with black and wasn't the only thing that had changed about Brooklyn's body. Brooklyn's once ice blue eyes were now golden with a swirl of black round the pupil. Large black wings were seen on Brooklyn's back. Brooklyn's hands were slowly turning into claws.

Suddenly Zeus growled in pain and clutched the side of his head. _"Don't you dare! I will not allow you to destory Eoral!"_ Brooklyn yelled somewhere in Zeus's mind. Zeus snarled at the unseen person.

"Keep your trap shut! You have no say in the matter!" Zeus snapped. The pain began to dull down, but it was still there. Zeus smirked to himself. "Fight all you want Brooklyn but I have won control over your body. Your home will be nothing but blood and ash." he chuckled. Brooklyn struggled again.

_"Don't count on it Zeus! My son will stop you. He will find a way to bring me back."_ he swore. Zeus chuckled once more as his wings unfolded.

"Do not forget that he is marked as well. I may have more interest in you, but he shares your blood. In truth he shares your fate." Zeus' smirk grew when Brooklyn fell silent. "That's good, now stay silent." he ordered before flying up into the air. He didn't know where he was going but Zeus knew he wanted to have some fun along the way.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you to __**Jovanni**__ and __**Schoolboredom**__ for reviewing!

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Alex's horse, Black Magic, knew something was up. Being the offspring of the famous Daredevil, Black Magic was stocky like his father. Black Magic was always pitch black, but there were some things different about the stallion. Unlike his father, Black Magic had a pair of white eyes, and flecks of gold in his mane and tail. Black Magic stomped the ground as Alex led him from the stable. Only the princess could tame him. "Easy boy." Alex whispered, stroking his mane. 

Next to Black Magic was a fawn coloured horse by the name of Firestorm. This was the daughter of the famous Ghostrider. Firestorm was Chris' horse, gievn to him by his father. She was smaller then Black Magic but she was just as fast. She had a pair of fire red eyes and flecks of red in her mane and tail. Like Black Magic, only Chris could tame her. Firestorm eyed her owner carefully. She too could tell something was wrong. Nevertheless she let Chris led her out into the courtyard.

Lastly there was a small white female horse. This was the offspring of Hikari, Brooklyn's horse. Brooklyn had left Hikari in the care of the King and Queen. The offspring to Hikari was simply named Pure. The female had ice green eyes and a pure white mane and tail which seemed to disappear against the horse's skin. Gerard slowly opened the stable and entered the stable. He waited a moment, but Pure had other ideas. She trotted towards Gerard and nudged his hand. Gerard smiled and led her out into the courtyard. As the trio began to set their horses up for the journey, Gerard glanced over to Fate. "Don't you have a horse?" he inquried. Fate shook her head.

"Nope. I can turn into a wolf. That's my mode of transport." she replied before glancing over Alex's outfit. "Looking hot girl." Fate giggled. Alex stuck her tongue. The Princess was once again dressed in shorts, only this time it wasn't green. She wour a black tank top with black shorts and black trainers. Her hair was done up in plaits once more and a black and white head bang held her bangs up from her eyes. Her brother pointed out how the outfit was not for combat, but Alex was Alex.

Meaning she'd never listen anyway.

Chris mounted his horse, checking he had his sword. Chris had inherited his father's armour and sword, but whether he knew how to use Phoenix Flare was another matter. "We all ready?" Chris questioned. Both Gerard and Alex mounted their horses as Fate turned into her wolf self. Chris nodded and the group left the courtyard.

From her room, Jemma watched her children leave. Placing her hands together, the demon queen prayed to anyone who would listen that her children returned home safe.

_'To the praying mother,  
__The worried father,  
__Let your children go.  
__If they come back, they'll come home stronge,  
__And if they don't you'll know'_

**Good charlotte: The River**

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Ling 'Rin' Kon paused at what she was doing and glanced up at the sky.

She had been sensing _it_ for a while now and _it_ was growing worst. Ray and Mariah Kon's only daughter had no idea what _it_ was but Rin was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. _Note to self: Ask father about the strange energy reading._ Rin thought as she closed her eyes.

"Rin?"

The Pink haired neko-jin opened her eyes and turned to see a younger neko. "Hey Sakura. What's up?" Rin asked. The younger neko twisted her finger round the hem of her training shirt. Sakura had always liked Rin because she was easy to talk to.

"Are you gonna help train us today?" Sakura questioned. Rin smiled down at the little neko and ruffled her hair. Sakura's honey brown eyes became large, almost taking up her whole head. Rin had to admit that no one could really say no to Sakura when she looked like that.

"Yeah sure Sakura. Come on, lessons gonna start soon." Rin replied.

-------

Gerard trotted up between Alex and Chris as Fate caught up effortlessly. "So, where do we have to go?" the white mage questioned. Chris pulled a worn piece of paper from his pocket. On the paper was a map that described the entire jounery to the shrine. Chris' eyes scanned the entire paper.

"We have to go through the wind dragon's cave. I believe that's Dragoon, right?" Chris replied, stuffing the paper back into his pocket. The other three nodded their heads. "It leaves us with one problem. Where are we going to find a dragon tamer?" Chris mumbled. Fate chewed over the question.

"Before the cave there's a village right? I remember the King saying something about a dragon tamer living the village." Fate paused as she dodged a low branch. Chris scratched his chin. Fate glanced over to the prince before casting her eyes back onto the path ahead. "We going to the village or not?" the hybrid questioned. Chris nodded his head.

"Yeah. That will be our first stop."

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Makoto Granger sighed loudly as he continued to sweep the garden. To him it seemed like a losing battle. Everytime he swept up the cherry blossom more fell from the tree in the garden. Makoto had thought about giving up but his mother, Hillary Granger, wanted to garden swept.

And what Hillary wanted, Hillary got.

Makoto growled and glared at the cherry blossom tree before continuing on with his chores. As the dragon tamer in training continued to sweep the ground, his mind wondered on to all of the lessons he had recently taken. He had just completely the final exam and was praying to any god who was willing to listen that he had passed. Makoto's thoughts was shattered when he heard a noise coming from the enterance of the village. Leaving the broom to one side, Makoto went off to investigate.

Makoto's father, Tyson Granger, slowly opened his eyes. He had been meditating for some time but something didn't feel right. Now the new elder of the village, Tyson had lots of duties to attend to but he managed to get them all done. Recently contact with Dragoon had been harder to do and Tyson feared that Dragoon had reached his age and had passed on. However when the elder dragon tamer felt a dark energy, he knew things were much worst.

Now he was sensing a phoenix and a demon energy. Tyson wondered who it really was. He knew it couldn't be the KIng and Queen, even though it would have been nice to see them again. Tyson frowned but remained where he was in the dojo.

Deep down, he knew something was happening.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you to __**Schoolboredom**__ for reviewing

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Makoto pushed his way in front of the crowd, whispering sorry to those who dared give him an evil look. Makoto was a very thoughtful person but some people in the village were very rude. The young dragon tamer had finally reached the front of the group. His eyes scanned across the opeing area in front of the village and frowned. A large group was coming towards the village. As the figures got closer, Makoto's eyes widened. 

Bandits were coming.

Makoto spun round. "Get home now! Bandits are coming!" he yelled. The villagers gasped before the screaming began. They all ran in different directions as Makoto ran towards his home. He dodged different people before running to his garden. He yanked the sliding door of the dojo and almost fell in. His mother and father looked up. "Makoto? What's wrong?" Hillary inquried. Makoto pointed outside.

"Bandits are coming!" he warned. Hillary gasped as Tyson lept to his feet. His wife turned to Tyson and shook her head.

"Tyson, don't!" she pleaded but it fell on deaf ears. Tyson had already grabbed a kendo sword and was making his way outside. Hillary stopped at the door, gripping the door frame so hard her knuckles turned white. "TYSON!" she screamed. Makoto closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. Before his mother could stop him, Makoto also grabbed a kendo sword and ran out into the streets of the village.

------

Fate cocked her head to one side.

She was sure she had heard screaming. The group had rested for a short time near a river. Alex glanced over to her friend, noticing the confusioned expression on the wolf's face. "Fate? What's wrong?" the princess questioned. The two males glanced over to the wolf. Fate was silent for some time before she jumped up.

"Screams. Coming from the village up ahead." Fate informed. The trio jumped up and mounted their horses.

"Come on! We've got to help out." Chris ordered. The other three nodded their heads and the group set off.

------

Makoto tried hard to find his father amoungst the flames and smoke. So many villagers had been killed and it upset Makoto greatly. He prayed his mother was safe inside the house, as he tried once more to search for his father. Makoto struggled to see past the smoke. He continued to run to a figure, thinking it was his father, only to find out it was one of the bandits. "Well, what do we have here?" The bandit chuckled. Makoto held the sword out in front of him. "Think you can take me on?" The bandit hissed.

The bandit swung his pole arm first, but Makoto blocked it easily. Makoto went to attack, but the bandit blocked his attack and kicked Makoto in the stomach. The young dragon tamer hit the floor with a loud thump. "I'll teach you to mess with me!" The bandit snapped and raised his pole arm. Makoto waited for the blow but instead the bandit screamed in pain. Makoto opened his eyes to see a smoky blue and red wolf with it's jaws clamped onto the bandit's wrist. The bandit swung the wolf away, who turned into a young female. The female landed on her feet and glanced at Makoto.

"You'd better get going. I'll take care of the bandits here." she ordered. Before Makoto could say thank you, the female ran into battle against the bandits. Makoto stood rooted to the spot, before hearing a woman scream. Makoto's blood ran cold. He knew who that scream belonged to.

It was his mother.

------

Hillary took another step back. There were four bandits and each one grinned at her evilly. "What's amatter? Don't you want to have some fun with us?" the first badnits questioned. Hillary grabbed the nearest thing to her, Makoto's discharged broom. She swung it at the first bandit, smacking him on the head. He hit the floor, cursing. Hillary went to strike the second bandit but he caugth the broom and yanked it out of her hands.

They circled round Hillary, who tried to get away.

_"Didn't your mother ever tell you to play nice?"_

The bandits turned round to see a young blue haired girl. "You wanna have some fun too?" one of the bandits smirked. He glanced down and noticed the two large ninja daggers the female had. "Fiesty one huh?" The girl smirked.

"You have no idea." she laughed before striking. The first bandit had no time to block, before the girl tore her dagger through his stomach. The second bandit ran to attack, giving Hillary enough time to run into the dojo. The sliding door slammed shut and the girl smiled. Now she didn't have to worry about Hillary. The girl blocked the second bandit's attacks before kicking him in the face. The bandit stumbled back, only to have the girl plunged her dagger into his chest. The last two stared at each other. "Wanna play?" the girl smirked, shaking the blood off her daggers.

The two bandits yelled and charged at her. The girl flipped over the first one and kicked his counter-part in the face. The girl spun round and sliced the first bandit along his spine. The bandit screamed in pain before the girl stabbed him through the back. The last bandit held his bleeding nose, his eyes wide with fear. "Please! Don't! I beg you!" he pleaded. The girl glared at him. The fires made her eyes blaze and it scared the bandit more then anything.

"You didn't take pity on those that beg for mercy. Why should I do the same to you?" the girl hissed before slashing his stomach open. As a last attack, the girl chopped the man's head off. As the body hit the ground, the girl heard a boy calling out. She turned round, all trace of hate gone from her face. "You okay kid?" the girl questioned. Makoto frowned as he neard his garden.

"Where's my mother?" he inquried. The girl pointed to the dojo. Makoto sighed with relief before he glanced around. "Where's my father?" he asked. The girl frowned.

"Not here." she replied. Makoto felt tears prick the back of his eyes. "Hey listen to me. I'll find him, okay. What's his name?" the girl asked, placing a blood soaked hand on Makoto's shoulder. The young dragon tamer wiped his eyes free from tears.

"Tyson Granger."

------

Three bandits chuckled at each other. "Looks like we've found a white mage." the first one laughed. The said white mage stood in front of a group of children. The children huddled against each other, whimpering.

"White mage's can't fight. This will be easy." the second bandit chuckled. The white mage looked up, narrowing his two different coloured eyes. The three bandits shuddered a little. "What the hell is wrong with your eyes?" the second bandit muttered. The white mage placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"There is nothing wrong with my eyes." The white mage hissed a little. "The king of Eoral will not be too happy to hear about your acts of cruelty." he added. The three bandits laughed loudly. The third one stepped up closely to the mage.

"And whoes gonna tell him? You?" he chuckled. The white mage drew his sword and placed the tip against the the bandit's neck. The bandit gasped a little.

"Yes. I am _close_ friends with the king himself." the mage smirked and attacked. The third bandit stumbled back as he felt something warm run down his neck. He had just been kissed by the deadly blade of the mage's sword. The bandit growled and attacked, slashing the air wilding. The mage blocked all the attacks before plunging his sword into the bandit's stomach. The last two bandits charged. The white mage blocked all their attacks and killed them effortlessly.

The white mage turned his attention to the group of children. "It's okay now." he smiled. The youngest flung his arms around the mage's neck.

"Thank you mister." he whispered. The white mage hugged him back, before the young boy was pulled away to safety.

-------

Tyson and a young two-toned boy were surronded. The last group of the bandits sneered and taunted them, but neither moved. "I thank you for coming to our rescue." Tyson called over his shoulder. The boy nodded his head.

"I am only sorry me and my friends weren't able to get here sooner." the boy replied. Tyson smiled and shook his head. Suddenly one of the bandits fell forward. Everyone stared in confusion at the dagger that was embedded in his back. The boy smiled.

_"Don't worry Nee-san! We're coming!"_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to __**School boredom**__ once more for reviewing

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Out of the smoke, three warriors came running. Tyson smiled a little as he attacked the first bandit who dared take his eyes off of him. As the three other warriors joined in, more blood was spilt. The ground was soon turning crimson. 

By the time the sun had begun to set the bandits had been slaughters.

Tyson straightened up, flicking blood from his sword. "Once again I am thankful for your help." He smiled as he turned his sights to the two-toned boy. Before the boy could reply, one of the females cut in.

"Are you Tyson Granger?" she inquired. Tyson nodded his head, somewhat confused. The female sighed happily. "That's good. Your son was worried that you hadn't returned home." She explained. Tyson gasped.

"Makoto! Hillary!" he whispered. Tyson turned to the group. "Please, you must join me at my home. It is the least I can do." He offered. The two-toned boy agreed and bowed a little.

------

Tyson winced at the dead bodies in his garden. Carefully stepping over them, he yanked open the sliding door of the dojo. "Makoto! Hillary!" he called out. There came running footsteps and Tyson was knocked backwards.

"Tyson! Don't ever do that again. I thought I was never going to see you again." Hillary sobbed, hugging her husband tightly. Makoto stood in the doorway of the dojo. His eyes were shining with tears that were on the verge of falling.

"I am fine Hillary, really." Tyson reassured. Hillary looked over to the group, noticing the female in the black shorts that had saved her. "These are our guests. I must thank them for helping." Tyson informed. Hillary pulled away from her husband and led the group inside. Tyson turned to his son. "Makoto, go the council. Tell them that the helpers are here in my dojo. Run along now." Makoto nodded his head and darted off.

------

The elders in the council of the wind dragon all sighed and shook their heads. The smoke was dying down as well as the fire. The elders only prayed that the rains would come soon. "This will do no good Sra." One of the elders murmured. Sra nodded his head.

"I know Kelyn." Sra paused when he heard running feet. Makoto stumbled into the council building and doubled over panting.

"My lords….I bring news." Makoto gasped. Sra and Kelyn crowded round him. The other elders mumbled amoungest themselves.

"Catch your breath boy first." Kelyn ordered. Makoto nodded his head and gulped down more air. When he was able to talk again, Makoto straightened up.

"My father brings word. Four warriors came to help the fight against the bandits. They are resting in my home." Makoto informed. Sra nodded his head.

"Thank you Makoto. We shall arrive shortly."

------

Tyson rubbed his forehead as Hillary poured tea for the guests. "So Zeus had taken over Brooklyn's body. What a shame." Tyson muttered. He turned his sights to the group. "May I know your names?" he inquired.

"I am Prince Christopher Hiwatari. This is my twin sister, Princess Alexandra Hiwatari." Chris paused to look at their guardians. "And these are our guardians. Fate Ivanov and Gerard Kingston." He finished. Tyson bowed his head.

"I am honoured to meet you all." Tyson looked directly at Gerard. "I am sorry to hear about your father." He whispered. Gerard nodded his head.

"We all are." He replied. Tyson turned his attention back to Chris.

"We came here to find a dragon tamer. We need to go through the wind dragon cave." Chris replied. The gang looked over to the dojo doors as Makoto entered.

"I would offer my services but I am needed here now more." Tyson stated regretfully. Tyson glanced at his son as Makoto sat next to him. "However, my son has completely his final exam. Tomorrow we find out if he has passed. Perhaps you could stay here for the night." Alex cut him off.

"We couldn't, really. Thank you for the offer." Tyson smiled.

"It is merely replaying you for your kind acts. Please." Fate seemed happy with the idea and turned to look at Chris. The prince nodded his head.

"Very well then. On behalf of my group, I thank you for your kindness."

------

Zeus was having a great time. So long had he been locked away, that the dark god had forgotten what it felt like to be free. As the dark god soared over the lands, a figure stood and watched.

"So you have returned my lord. Returned to make this world your own." The figure smiled. He turned and retreated back into the depths of the forest. He was the last of his kind.

A worshipper of Zeus.


	7. Chapter 7

Makoto was up and out of bed early the next morning. This would have made his mother, Hillary, worried had she not known why he was so excited. Makoto had inherited his father's trait, staying in bed until noon. However Hillary knew her son would grow out of it, seeing as his father did. Tyson was a village elder, he couldn't stay in bed till noon.

Makoto stumbled in the kitchen as his mother continued to make breakfast. "Good morning Makoto. You're up early, aren't you?" Hillary greeted. Makoto headed towards the back door and pulled his shoes on.

"Yep. I get my results today. Hopefully I can help the prince and princess on their journey." Makoto replied. Hillary smiled at her son. He reminded her so much of Tyson. Makoto turned to face his mother. "I'll be back soon." he grinned. His mother nodded her head and Makoto disappeared out into the streets. Hillary turned when she heard footsteps. She bowed as Alex entered the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning your higness." Hillary greeted. Alex nodded her own welcome before yawning loudly. Hillary chuckled a little. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Makoto went to get his results." she informed as Alex sat down at the table.

-------

Makoto dodged fallen timber and rocks as he made his way to wind dragon school. The elders and some familys had summoned their dragons to help with the mess. By the time morning had arrived, you wouldn't believe a bandit attack had happened. Some of the buildings still needed to be repaired but nothing major was needed to be done. All the dead bodies, both villagers and bandits had been cleared. The villagers had been given a better burial then the bandits.

Makoto turned a sharp corner, almost falling onto his side. As he passed other villagers, he waved good morning to them. Makoto knew he was coming up the school now. A fruit and veg stall was pulling up in front, blocking Makoto's way. The soon-to-be dragon tamer cursed before an idea struck him. Makoto continued to run head on towards the cart before ducking and rolling underneath the cart. The owner stared bewildered as Makoto waved good morning and continued on his way.

Makoto's teacher looked up as his student stumbled in, doubling over to catch his breath. "Makoto? You're here early today, are you not?" the teacher iquired. He waited until Makoto had caught his breath.

"Hai sensei." Makoto began. He gulped down more air before standing up. "I came for my results on the final exam." Makoto informed. His teacher nodded his head.

"Very well. Wait there." The teacher took off, looking through the different files he had on each student. Makoto hopped from one foot to the other, wishing the teacher would hurry up. The teacher soon returned with Makoto's file. Makoto watched as he looked through it and nodded his head.

"Well sensei?" Makoto questioned.

------

Alex thanked Hillary for the breakfast as Makoto came speeding into the kitchen. "Guess what!" he yelled cheerily. Tyson and Hillary looked at each other, knowing something had gotten him worked up. Whe no-one said anything, Makoto blurted out, "I've passed!"

"You have? Well done!" Hillary cheered, hugging her only son. Tyson clapped a hand on his son's shoulder and smiled. The twins looked at each other as Fate continued to eat. Gerard raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like we have our dragon tamer now." the white mage shrugged. Makoto sat down next to Chris and helped himself to some breakfast. "How well did you do?" Gerard asked suddenly. Makoto finished what was in his mouth before he answered.

"With flying colours. The teacher said I was the best student that passed." he grinned. Tyson swelled with pride as Makoto turned his attention to Chris. "So? Do I get to be your dragon tamer now?" he inquried. Chris finished the last of his breakfast before he replied.

"Of course." Chris smiled when he felt a prickly in the back of his head. The twins ahd always been able to contect to each other through their minds. They rarely used it, only as a last resort or to cure spurts of boredom.

_"Nee-san! He's annoying as hell!"_ Alex complained in his mind. Chris sighed and closed his eyes.

**"Alex, now is not the time to act like a spoilt kid. Makoto is helping us. That is final!"** he told her firmly. Chris hated the fact they were almost enemies on everything they did. Alex huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. This action earned a confused look from Makoto.

------

"Oh come on! Give me a break!"

Rin Kon was tempted to slam the door of the store shut, but thought against it. The pink haired neko-jin had been searching high and low for her father. She had asked her mother, Mariah Kon, where he would be. She replied with Rin's uncle but she didn't know where. Rin growled lowly in the back of her throat. Her mother was no help, and neither Driger, Galux, or Galeon had any idea where the two where. To make matters worst her father's friend, Kevin and Gary, hadn't seen them either. It was really starting to annoy the hell out of Rin.

Rin kicked the nearest thing to her, a stone statue. She flopped down on the steps on the shrine, cursing her father and uncle for not being in the same spot. Rin's cat like eyes scanned the trees around the village before noticing a figure in a cloak. The neko-jin lent foreward, trying to make out who it was, but the figure scuttled off. _That's odd. Then again weird things have been happening since that energy appeared._ Rin thought.

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_Thank you to **School Boredom** for reviewing!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you to __**Birdsofprey**__ for adding her review as well.

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Makoto mounted his horse and set off behind the group. Back at the village, Tyson and Hillary were amoung many of the villagers wishing Makoto good luck. Makoto waved over his shoulder at his friends and family before urging his horse faster. He caught up effortlessly with the others. 

The sun was already set high in the sky. Apart from the impending doom of Zeus' madness, no one would have guessed that lives would be lost. Makoto decided to try and contect with his family dragon. He managed after a second try but found something that made him have goosebumps. Dragoon was in a foul temper. More foul then anything he had sensed before. It left a bitter impression in his mind and a nasty after taste in his mouth. Gerard glanced over to the dragon tamer and noticed the distress on Makoto's face. "Are you alright?" The white mage inquried. Makoto looked up.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay." Makoto replied, smiling and waving his hand as if to bat the question away. Gerard frowned but turned to face the front. Fate raised an eyebrow. She may have not been watching the scene, but her wolf hearing was better then anyone's on the team. She could tell something was up with Makoto and she prayed he wasn't feeling home sick.

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Zeus yawned.

He was bored. The only thing he had ever planned was taking over his host's body, but no other plans were thought. No plans to make Eoral his or to destory anyone. Zeus stood on a large rock at the end of a forest and stared at a small little village. In the back of his brain Brooklyn was still struggling, yelling at him to not take a step further lest he wanted to die. Zeus snorted at his host's foolishness when he felt an energy getting nearer. Zeus spun round. "Show yourself!" Zeus barked.

"Please my lord! I mean no harm." A figure called out emerging from the shadows of the forest. Zeus watched in amazment as the figure bowed before him. "I am but your humble servant, my lord." the figure stated. Zeus scratched his chin.

"You are?" he hissed. The figure kept his face to the ground.

"Boris, my lord. I am the last of my kind. A worshipper to your great power." the figure replied. Zeus smirked a little.

"You will stay here. I'm off to have some fun." As Boris looked up Zeus spread his wings and took off towards the village. Boris wanted to go and watch his lord in action but knew better then to disobey a walking dark god. Zeus stopped above the village and held his hand high. "Prepare to die, you pitfully mortals!" Zeus yelled out as a large dark energy ball appeared. The villagers all began to scream and beg for mercy before Zeus let the ball fly. It impacted the ground, sending a shock wave rippling through.

Then it exploded.

Homes, livstock, family were all destoryed. Black fires reined over homes as some of the suviours screamed out. Zeus crossed his arms over his chest and slowly fluttered down to the village. He knew the fires would not hurt him. As a young woman ran past, Zeus grabbed hold of her and snapped her neck. The woman's husband cried out in shock, pain and anger. Forgetting all about who Zeus was, the husband charged. His battle cry echoed round the destoryed village, but it was the last thing he ever uttered and Zeus quickly slew him.

From his place at the end of the forest, Boris smirked. He was right to stay with his dark lord, right to go into hidding and continue to worship the god. And now after all those years, his loyal service was about to be paid off.

------

Gerard paused when he felt a weight of grief and sworrow flow through the air. Like his mother, Gerard could detect feelings from a mile away. He had always been taught to use it to his advantage. Gerard turned back to his friends as they neared the wind cave. Chris signalled everyone to halt before dismounting. "Is this it?" Alex called. Chris pulled the map from his pocket and glanced over it.

"Yeah. This is the place." he replied. Suddenly a gust of wind belched forth from the cave. The gust was so stronge that it almost knocked the group flying. Followed by the gust was a deep roar. "He doesn't sound too happy." Chris commented with a frowned. He glanced over to Makoto. The dragon tamer looked nervous. "You'll do fine." The prince reassured. Makoto smiled a little and handed the reins of his horse to Fate, who returned to her human form.

"Just stay behind me. I don't know what is wrong with Dragoon, but something has happened to him." Makoto replied and entered the cave.

------

It was cold.

Far colder then Alex had thought. She shivered a little as goosebumps ran up her naked legs and arms. Fate was use it being the daughter of an ice warrior. Her own blood kept her warm, a god-send from being the daughter of a fire warrior. Gerard and Chris kept their eyes peeled. Neither like the shadows that danced along the walls of the cave. Makoto held up hand out, stopping the group going further. "I must go along. Do not travel any further down this path until I call you. Understood?" He explained. Chris nodded his head.

"Understood."

Makoto sighed and began his way towards his family dragon. Dragoon was a grand beast to behold. The giant dragon raised his head before glaring down at Makoto. _"Human! What do you want?"_ The dragon hissed. Makoto held his nerve.

_It's not or never._ He thought grimly. Makoto looked up. "I am Makoto Granger, son of the first dragon tamer Tyson Granger. Dragoon, I request you allow safe passage for me and my friends." Makoto called up to the dragon. Dragoon snorted and lowed his head so a great wave of coal grey smoke washed over Makoto. The young dragon tamer coughed violently before regaining him.

_"I see that Granger blood flows through you. However, I do not see fit to let you and your friends pass."_ the dragon replied. Makoto's eyes widened.

"What! Dragoon, what do you mean?"

Once more the dragon snorted. _"You are not fit to be a dragon tamer. Your friends have no right to come through here as there is no danger. When the king had arrived, I knew that Maria's forces were growing. There is no danger."_ The dragon replied in a matter of fact tone. Makoto felt his anger rise. The wind currant around him began to gorw causing Dragoon to move away a little in shock.

"Dragoon! There is a danger! Zeus has taken over his host's body. We have to get through the cave. Please, I humbly request..."

_"You request nothing of me boy!"_ Dragoon snapped, catching Makoto off guard. The dragon tamer hung his head. He closed his eyes, thinking how he failed everyone when his father's voice cut through the sadness.

_Makoto, listen carefully to me. No matter how hard the battle is, no matter how bad the punishment is...you are of Granger blood. You can show everyone that you are a dragon tamer. Countless other before you have done the same. You must keep the line going._

Makoto looked up, the wind currant around was getting wilder. Dragoon glared down at the boy. _"You dare to go against me?"_ the dragon inquried. Even the twins and their friends could sense much hidden power within Makoto. The wind had turned into a gale.

"Dragoon, I have tried to ask you nicely but you leave me no choice. I demande you let us pass!" Makoto yelled. Dragoon reared up.

_"I take no orders from a boy."_ he replied, but Makoto had been ready for that. Summoning enough energy, Makoto began to hover a little in the air.

"Tornado strike!" Makoto yelled, sending a funnel of wind towards his dragon. The wind hit Dragoon in the stomach, causing his to topple over. The dragon crashed against the wall, causing rubble to fall. Alex yelped in fear as Gerard protected her. Chris protected Fate who was not at all happy that her job had been taken over by the prince. The dragon stared hard at the teen wondering where such a great amount of energy had come from.

_"You are indeed of Granger blood."_ The dragon muttered getting up. Makoto got into stance just in case. _"Very well. I grant you and your friends passage through my cave. Go now."_ Dragoon ordered before turning round. Makoto's hands fell to his side before he signalled the others to join him. Slowly, so as not to wake the now sleeping dragon, the gang made their way to the other side.

-----

Alex dusted down her shorts, grumbling over ill-tempered dragons. Makoto blushed a little. "Sorry about that. Dragoon has never refused a request from a dragon tamer before." he replied. Chris shrugged.

"There's a first time for everything." he paused to look at Gerard who had drawn his blade. "Gee? What's wrong?"

Gerard narrowed his eyes. "He comes." was the only reply he got before the gang heard the sound of flapping wings. Fluttering down in front of them was none other then Zeus. His claws were coated in blood. Gerard lowed his sword a fraction unable to accept what Zeus had done. "You...You...You monster!" Gerard screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

Zeus smirked at Gerard, before slowly licking the blood from his claws. Alex and Fate stood ready for a fight either side of a shell-shocked Gerard. Makoto glanced at Chris who was gritting his teeth. "We have to fight that?" he asked. Chris nodded his head but said nothing.

"What did you do?" Gerard questioned, his sword still at his side. Zeus moved his claws away from his mouth and smirked again. Gerard felt a shiver run along his spine. What saddened him the most of the fact that it was his father's body Zeus was abusing.

"I got rid of a pitful little village. Nothing too big my dear son. Just a little fun for your dear old papa." Zeus replied. Gerard's eyes narrowed. Fate glanced over to the white mage feeling his energy rise. She knew it was seriously hurting Gerard to see his father like this. Gerard took a slow step forward, his eyes never leaving Zeus' eyes.

"You are not my father! I am not your son!" Gerard yelled. He swung his sword, ready to cut Zeus when the sword pounced off a sheild. Zeus reached out and grabbed Gerard round the throat. The white mage was lifted up as his sword hit the ground.

"Gerard!" Alex yelled and charged forward. She sliced Zeus' arm causing the dark god to howl in pain. Gerard hit the floor, choking. Zeus turned back to the princess and back handed her hard. Alex sailed through the air and smacked into a tree. Gerard growled and swung his foot underneath the god. Zeus, however, saw it coming and flew into the air. He glared hard at Gerard, but the white mage could clearly see his father trying to get through.

"Still has fiesty as your father I see. I will take you out. I will kill you and your friends." Zeus hissed before flying off. Fate and already by Alex's side as she rubbed her head.

"Alex. Are you okay?" Chris asked as he and Makoto jogged over to them. Gerard joined the group, rubbing his neck.

"Did anyone get the name of that donkey cart?" Alex grumbled before looking at Gerard. "You okay Gee?" she inquried. The white mage nodded his head as he helped the princess up. Makoto looked up at the sky.

"Well, that was interest." he muttered. Gerard said nothing as he cured both himself and Alex. The group mounted their horses once more and set off at a slow pace. It was clear that everyone had been shaken by the encounter. Alex glanced at Gerard, feeling sorry for the white mage. It was clear he was more upset then anyone.

-------

Alister Tate sighed and wiped his forehead. Since lunchtime he had been working hard with his father, uploading goods to take across the Draciel sea. Alister took off his wire-framed glasses and cleaned the grim and dirt off of them until they were clean again.

"Alister!"

The said teen placed his glasses back on and looked up at the deck of the ship. "Aye father?" he called up. Leaning over the side of the ship was Max Tate. His blond hair was cut short but still stuck out in odd angles. The years working on his uncle ship after his Guardian days had brozen his skin. His ocean blue eyes shone in the afternoon sun.

"How many boxes left?" Max called down. Alister turned to the crate boxese and counted them.

"Five left father." He replied. Alister glanced over to his mother, Emily Tate as she came from the shop the Tate family run. Alister could tell something was up. "Mother? What's wrong?" Alister inquried. Emily came to a stop as Max joined the group.

"The energy core for the ship has gone. I think the Saint-Shields took it." she explained. Max growled lowly in his throat as a member of the crew ran towards them. "What's up Jack?" Emily questioned. Jack paused to catch his breath.

"The prince and Princess of Eoral are waiting at the hotel with their guardians. They want to know if they can get passage across the sea." Jack informed. Emily looked at Max as something else began to shine in her husband's eyes. He began to remember the days he served as a guardian for the king. Max turned to his son.

"Come on Alister." Alister nodded his head and followed his father towards the town hotel.

-----

Alex tapped her foot on the carpet of the hotel. They hadn't been waiting long, but Alex had a short attention span. Fate sat on a chair next to Chris and scratched her ear. "Chris, I've got something to ask." the hybrid pup suddenly stated. Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"Well, it's just there is only one of Dranzer and there are two of you. How is he going to fuse with both of you?" Fate inquried. Chris paused. He hadn't really thought about it. When his father first went to visit Dranzer, there was only him. Now the flame god had to deal with twins. Chris rubbed his forehead and sighed. Things were getting confusing.

_"Can I help you?"_

The gang turned their attention to two people who had entered the hotel. Chris took charge. "Yes. We're looking for a safe passage across the sea." Chris paused to point to his group. "I'm Christopher Hiwatari. This is my twin sister, Alexandra and our two guardians, Fate and Gerard." he finished. The elder of the two nodded his head.

"My name is Max Tate and this is my son Alister. I would give you a ride on my sip but the power core has been stolen." Max replied with a small sigh. Fate growled under her breath. This was just getting better and better. Alister eyed the group before his eyes fell on Alex's outfit. An idea crossed his mind.

"Father, maybe the princess could get the power core for us." Max raised an eyebrow but wanted to hear more of his son's idea. "The Saint-shields will have placed it somewhere so maybe, seeing as the princess is dressed almost like a ninja, she could get the information out of them." Alister explained. Max nodded his head and turned to face Alex.

"Your highness." Max never got to finsh the sentace. Alex smiled widely and pulled her daggers into view.

"You don't have to ask. I will gladly go and find out where this power core is." Chris grabbed her arm and glared hard at his younger sister.

"Are you nuts? The Saint-sheilds are the toughest group of ninjas in all of Eoral. I will not allow you to face them." he ordered. Alex yanked her hand free. Gerard and Fate shared a look which Alister, Makoto and Max stared on confused.

"You always denie me the fun. Why do you think I go outside the palace walls without you knowing? I know you'll forbid me from doing it! I don't care if it's not princess like behaviour. We need that power core Chris. One way or another I'm going to find it!" Alex snapped. Chris glared hard at his sister once more before huffing and turning away.When her anger had been spent on her brother, the princess of Eoral turned her attention to Max and his son. "Where can I find these Saint-shields then?" she inquried.

Alistor smiled. "I'll show you."

------

Ozuma smirked as his daughter ran circles round her Uncle. Joseph pouted as his niece giggled once more. Ozuma fingered the long scar across his left eye. It was a remainder of a battle he had long ago with another rival clan. His wife Mariam appeared in the door way of their house as her daughter ran behind her. "Sakura. Have you been teasing your uncle again?" Mariam inquied.

Joseph stopped to rest. "It's okay Mariam. No harm, no foul." he muttered breathlessly. Ozuma looked round the village and noticed they were short one Dunga. The leader of the village turned to look at the smallest member.

"Where's Dunga, Joseph?" Ozuma inquried. Joseph turned to face him and shrugged. Suddenly there came a loud scream followed by a string of curses. Ozuma looked over to Mariam. "Get Sakura inside now." he ordered. Sakura and her mother disappeared inside as Dunga ran towards the village. There was a large gash on his arm. Joseph stood up.

"Dunga? What the hell happened?" he inquried. Dunga came to a stop and pointed a shaeky hand towards the forest.

"Some ninja girl came out of no-where and attacked me. Said she wanted the location of the power core we stole from the Tates." Dunga informed. Ozuma gritted his teeth and got into stance.

"Dunga, you are in no postion to fight. Protect Sakura." he ordered. Dunga nodded and headed towards Ozuma's house. Mariam came out a few seconds later. "I'm glad you could fight with us." Ozuma chuckled. Mariam returned the smile.


	10. Chapter 10

_Just a quick note. I've noticed how there is a Sakura at the neko-jin village who was seen talking to Rin, and that Ozuma's daughter is also called Sakura. They aren't the same person. Oh and thanks to __**School boredom**__ once more for reviewing.

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_

It was tense for a few moments. It was also quiet. The rest of the villagers knew something was up and had ran into their own homes. A breeze blew past before the bushes rustled. Ozuma tensed further as a young blue haired girl stepped out. Blood was seen on her twin ninja daggers. She wour a pair of black shorts and a black tank top, which matched her trainers and head band. Ozuma stepped forward. "What do you want Kunoichi?" Ozuma inquried. 

The said Kunoichi glared at Ozuma was with dark crimson eyes and pointed a dagger at him. "I came for the location of the power core which you stole from the Tate family." she hissed in reply. Ozuma smirked.

"If you want it Kunoichi, you'll just have to beat us." he jeered. Ozuma felt a bit of panic rise up as the Kunoichi got in stance and smirked the most danergous smirk Ozuma had ever seen. There was something in her eyes as well. A sort of blood-lust glint, that not only made Ozuma shiver but Mariam and Jospeh as well.

"With pleasure." the Kunoichi chuckled. No-one made a move. Joseph growled and darted off to attack the Kunoichi. Mariam cursed her brother's short temper.

-------

Behind the bushes, the group plus Alister all sat and watched. "Why do they keep calling the princess _Kunoichi_?" Makoto whispered. Fate, Gerard and Chris all looked at each other before rolling their eyes. Only Alister decided to answer Makoto.

"Kunoichi means female ninja. Ozuma and the others seem to think that the princess is a Kunoichi because of the way she is dressed." Alister paused and turned to look at Chris. "Your highness, you never said where you were going. May I ask as to the location?" he inquried.

"We are heading to the the shrine of the great flame god Dranzer." Chris replied. Alister nodded his head and turned back to the fight. Chris was thankful that he didn't question any further. They did not know if Alister was still willing to help if they found the truth about Gerard's father.

-------

Ozuma was worried.

He had prided over the fact that his tribe was the strongest tribe of ninjas in all of Eoral. Joseph may have been the weakest in terms of position, but the sneaky little spy was a tought little cookie. However, this unknown Kunoichi was beating the stuffing out of him. The Kunoichi swung her foot round, kicking Joseph in the face. The green haired ninja sailed to the right and smacked into a tree. The tree wobbled before falling down. Mariam growled under her breath. "You'll pay for that!" she screamed and charged forward.

"Mariam, don't!" Ozuma called, but it was too late. Mariam was already attacking the unknown Kunoichi. The two female ninja's battled for some time. The Kunoichi blocked all of Mariam's weapon attacks before kicking Mariam's short sword out of her hands. Mariam backed up, before getting once more in stance.

"You just don't know when to quit." The kunoichi mumbled. Mariam sneered at her.

"The Saint-Shields do not know the meaning of quit." she snapped and charged. The kunoichi smirked as she blocked each attack. However, she missed one and Mariam back handed the unknown Kunoichi. The ninja hit the dirt, bouncing a few times before getting up. The Kunoichi looked at her outfit and groaned.

"Aw man! This will take forever to get out." The Kunoichi complained, trying to get rid of the dust on her outfit. Mariam and Ozuma sweatdropped before Ozuma nodded his head. Mariam ran towards the Kunoichi. Suddenly the Kunoichi held her hand up and smirked. _"Firaga."_ she whispered. The fire spell hit Mariam in the chest and sent her into the side of her home. A crater was left as Mariam slid down to the floor. Ozuma's knuckles turned white as he gripped his sword tightly. The Kunoichi smirked at him. "Are you going to tell me where this power core is?" she inquried.

"Never!" Ozuma yelled.

------

Gerard sighed and shook his head. "Why don't they just admit defeat. Alex has won this fight." he muttered. Chris kept his eyes on his sister, wishing she wasn't so cocky in battle. he knew it would prove to be her undoing one day.

"The saint-shield tribe do not know the meaning of defeat. Unless Alex beats Ozuma, they will never tell us where the power core is." he informed. Makoto and Alister turned to look at him. Chris returned the gaze. "What?" he inquried.

"You seem to know an awful lot about the Saint-Shields." Alister shrugged. Chris smirked.

"A future ruler needs to know everything about the world he will one day rule." came the reply. Suddenly, Ozuma shouted out as Alex kicked him in his stomach.

-------

Ozuma groaned as he landed hard on the floor. The Kunoichi calmly walked over to the leader and got a tight grip on Ozuma's hair. "Where is the power core?" she hissed. Ozuma spat in her face. The kunoichi growled before yanking hard on Ozuma's hair. He yelled out in pain. "Don't try your luck! Where is it!" The kunoichi hissed.

"In a cave, 2 minute walk west of here. One of the villagers can show you the way." Ozuma muttered in defeat. The kunoichi smiled and let Ozuma go. The leader of the Saint-Shields got up and dusted himself down. "Kunoichi, what tribe are you from?" he inquried suddenly. The Kunoichi smiled and turned back to Ozuma.

"I am no female ninja. I am Princess Alexandra Serenity Hiwatari, young daughter of the King and Queen of Eoral." Alex chuckled as Ozuma's mouth hit the floor. "Oh and about that guide. Don't bother. Me and my friends will find it easily." Alex added and disappeared out of view. Ozuma regained himself.

"Princess? But she dresses nothing like a Princess." he muttered.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks to __**School Boredom**__ and __**Jovanni**__ for reviewing.

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Kai Hiwatari, King of Eoral, calmly made his way to the courtyard. School was about to start for all the hopefuls wanting to be in the army. Kai had ordered that the castle act as normal while the prince and princess were away. So far things had been running smoothly. 

By the time Kai got to the courtyard, Bryan was already giving a lecture to the students. Kai smiled at the hopefuls as they hung onto every word Bryan said. Nina was also there, a prime example of what they could be. She too hung onto every word her father said. It did not faze the older members of the army when females wanted to join. Kai remembered when someone made a comment about it, a long time ago. That person had wanted to make everyone slaves to a dark god.

Of course Kai had refused such an action.

"_Consider the fate of your woman."_ The man had warned. Kai snorted before looking at his wife.

"_Clearly you don't know our women."_

Kai was jolted out of his thoughts when Bryan stopped in front of him. "Your Highness. And what do I own this pleasure?" he inquired bowing. Kai allowed Bryan to rise.

"Captain, you do not need to bow before me. As to why I am here….I came to see how the children fair." Kai replied. Bryan smiled and turned to the children.

"Students! I suspect the king wishes to hear our battle cry." Bryan smirked. Kai was amazed at how fast the children lined up. They stood straight, each holding an invisible weapon. "Three, Two, One."

"**HAROOH! HAROOH! HAROOH!"**

Kai smiled. He knew that those hopefuls would defend their home with their dying breath.

-------

The gang had come to a stop outside a large cave. "This it?" Chris asked, wiping his forehead. It had been a long climb to the cave and wearing the phoenix armour did not help. _2 minute walk my ass!_ He cursed. He was not the only one out of breath.

Makoto had flopped to the floor, staring up at the sky. There were flecks of gold and pink which meant night was going to draw in soon. Fate lent against a tree, her large wolf ears twitching with each noise. Gerard and Alister sat down, keeping their eyes open for anymore ninja attacks. Alex turned to face her brother, hands on her hips. "I'm sure this is it." She huffed.

Chris could only nod his head and catch his breath. "Well, whose going to get the power core?" he inquired. Alister stared into the murky blackness and shivered.

"I'll go." Alex offered and pulled her daggers into view. Chris was too worn out to argue with his baby sister ad merely nodded his head.

"Fate, you go too. Keep an eye on her." He ordered. The hybrid wolf pup nodded her head and followed the princess into the cave. Chris stared up at the sky along with Makoto and Gerard.

"Lets hope they get it before it gets dark." Gerard mumbled.

--------

"It's no good. I can't see a thing."

"There's got to be some sort of light here."

**Thunk!**

"Owie!" There was silence. "Hey, I think I found a torch." A small fire spell was whispered and Alex held the torch higher. The two females stood on a worn down stone walkway. In front of them was a stone stand and sitting on top of stand was a glowing gem about the size of a fist.

"Well, at least we won't be here all day trying to find the damn thing." Fate commented as the two made their way across the walkway. Small stones gave way as the girls walked along slowly.

Suddenly Alex slipped. The torch hit the side of the walkway, casting shadows on the wall. Alex tried to pull herself up as her feet kicked wildly below the walkway. Fate grabbed her arm. With the hybrid wolf's help, the princess of Eoral was pulled back onto the walkway. "Don't do anything like that again girl." Fate warned. She picked up the torch and the two resumed their walk.

-------

Chris threw another stone down the hill wondering what kept his sister and Fate. Gerard rubbed his head. For some reason his birth mark had been burning a lot lately. Alister turned her attention away from the sky and looked at Chris. "Your highness, I wish to ask a favour." He began.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"My father was a guardian to King Kai. My Grandmother was guardian to his grandfather. I request that I be your guardian for this journey." Alister stated. Makoto glanced from Chris to Alistor. The prince scratched his chin.

"How good are you in combat?" Chris inquired. Alister smirked a little, his eyes shining before his glasses.

"I have master all the water attacks. I am a skilled fighter as well your highness. Like my father, I am a worshiper of the water god Draciel." He informed. Chris smiled and nodded his head.

"It would be an honour for you to fight along side us."

"_We got it! We got it! We got it!"_

The males of the group stood up as the two females ran out of the cave, holding the gem. Alister's smirk turned into a smile. "Come on. Let's head back. Father will be pleased to hear that we have obtained the power core."


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you one and all for reviewing and waiting so nicely for the next chapter. At the currant moment, college is being a bit crazy. Thanks agains for waiting.

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Emily sighed and rubbed her forehead. 

That was the third call she had had from someone, not happy that his delivery was delayed. Emily had tried to explain that it wasn't her fault, but the guy had insisted that Emily took better care of her power core and hung up. The female Tate knew they won't be getting any business off him for sometime. It was half past five when Emily looked at the clock. She took off her wire-framed glasses and wiped them clean.

There was only two thing that her son had gotten from her. Her eye colour and eye sight. Both mother and son were short-sighted but it didn't hold either back. Once her task had been complete, Emily glanced outside. It was already dark outside. Emily chewed her lip, a little fearful before the shop door banged open.

"Mother! Mother!"

Emily spun round on her chair, to see her son bouning on the spot. He was not the only one. Makoto seemed equally excited. Fate, Gerard, Alex and Chris were the only calm ones. "Alister. Calm down. Whatever is the matter?" Emily question, hitching her glasses further up her nose. Alister pulled out the power core from his pocket, his eyes wide like a childs. Emily smiled widely, taking the core from his only son and rushing off to find her husband. Alister turned to the others.

"It's too dark to set sail now. You are welcome to stay the night." he offered. Chris nodded his head.

"Thank you Alister. We are leaving tomorrow bright and early. You might want to inform your father about the path you have choosen to take." Chris replied. Alister agreed before showing the guests to the other bedrooms.

--------

Zeus hummed a small tune under his breath as he kept close eye on the village. Next to him was his faithfully follower, Boris. "My lord. May I ask as to why we are waiting here?" Boris suddenly inquried, breaking the silence. Zeus said nothing at first, merely keeping track of his son's energy. The dark god was no fool. He knew that Gerard's mark was burning. Zeus also knew he had a small amount of control over Gerard.

_"Don't you dare Zeus!"_

Zeus winced. Brooklyn was playing up again. The dark god closed his eyes and entered through a tiny window in his mind. Chained to a wall of blackness was Brooklyn. His clothes were ripped and the light brown haired man was sweating. "I thought I told you to keep your trap shut!" Zeus hissed. Brooklyn narrowed his eyes.

_"Leave my son alone you monster! I know what you're planning to do to him."_ Brooklyn spat. Zeus raised a claw hand and slapped his host hard. Four long claw marks appeared as Brooklyn's head jerked to the right. Blood began to drip down his face, but Brooklyn didn't care.

"You keep your trap shut in future Brooklyn. I warn you." Zeus hissed before leaving his mind. When Zeus opened his eyes, he found it was raining pretty hard. Zeus snorted and turned away from the village. "Come Boris. We need to find shelter." he ordered and walked off into the forest. Pulling his hood further over his head, Boris followed the dark god into the darkness.

-------

Gerard couldn't sleep.

It wasn't the rain hammering against the window. That would normally put the white mage to sleep. Gerard knew it wasn't Makoto's snores from the other side of the room. Makoto could wake a pack of lions with that snore. Gerard shook his head and stared at the ceiling. No, it was something else.

Gerard's mark, the little black diamond on his forehead, had been burning for sometime. Gerard rubbed it again, wincing when a very hot pain rushed over his forehead. Suddenly his whole head began to hurt. Gerard clutched the sides of his head, fearful that it might explode at anytime. Gerard thrashed around. The pain was unbareable. The mage was begginning to believe this was the type of pain his father had felt.

Suddenly Gerard's head felt better, but Gerard had changed. His eyes were turning gold and his hair was flecked with black. The white mage moved silently from the spare bedroom, he shared ith Makoto and Chris. Gerard padded downstairs to where the power core was kept and slowly took it out of the glass cabinet. Then he headed outside into the cold and rain.

--------

Alex shot up.

She wasn't sure if it was a bad dream or because she heard the door slam. Alex pondered both options before hearing the front door bag against its frame once more. The princess was now on high alert. The rain hammered down against the window as the wind lashed against it. Grabbing her daggers, Alex snuck past her sleeping friend and out into the hall. Fate gave out a wolf like whimper before settling down to sleep again.

Alex slunk down the stairs, staring at the open front door. Frowning, Alex began to wonder whether anyone went out or if anyone came in. Her instincts told her outside and like her father, the princess always trusted her instincts. Slowly and carefully, Alex headed outside. She gripped her twin daggers tightly and shivered against the cold as she entered outside.

------

In the back of his mind, Gerard knew what he was doing. He was trying to force his body to turn around and replace the power core, but his body would not obey. This frightened the white mage greatly and he began to panic.

Alex couldn't see anything infront of her. Following her instincts, Alex continued to walk until she saw a figure. Alex narrowed her eyes a little trying to see the image more clearly. There came a flash of lightening out of nowhere, lighting everything up. Alex gasped. Standing in front of a large pond was Gerard and in his hands was the power core. "Gerard! Stop!" Alex yelled, running along the grass to her best friend.

Gerard drew back his arm. It was clear he hadn't heard the princess at all. Before he had a chance to throw it in the pond, Alex tackled him to the right. The power core bounced a little. Alex casted her eyes round, looking for it before seeing it glow brightly. Before Gerard could regain himself, Alex had already set off running off in the direction of the core. She grabbed it and pocketed it quickly before facing Gerard. "Gee? What's gotta into you?" the princess questioned. Gerard stood up.

_"Give me back the core."_ he ordered. Alex backed away, shaking her head. Gerard growled lowly. _"Give it back to me now wretch!"_ Gerard screamed. Alex shook her head again. That was not her Gerard. Both warriors were getting soaked, before Gerard made a move. He ran full pelt towards the princess. Alex blocked his attacks, before swinging round and kicking Gerard in the face. Gerard bounced on the wet grass before looking up at Alex.

"Al-Al-Alex? What was that for?" Gerard inquried in a whisper. He rubbed his cheek and swore he could taste blood. Alex knelt down next to Gerard.

"Gee? You're alright!" she squeaked before hugging him. "You were acting so strange. You were going to throw the power core into the pond." she explained. She looked back at Gerard's eyes and sighed in relief. They were back to normal. The flecks of black in his hair was also gone.

"Zeus. He tried to control me." Gerard groaned. "I'm such a fool." he muttered. Alex helped her friend up.

"You are not a fool. Come on. Let's get inside before we freeze to death." she replied. The two entered the Tate household, dripping wet and shivering. As Alex closed the door, the stairs was suddenly lit up.

"Whoes there?" Emily called. Gerard held up his hands.

"It's okay Emily. It is merely me and Alex." he called. Emily padded down the stairs and gasped at the state of the two.

"You're dripping wet. Quickly. You need to get out of those clothes." she fussed, ushering both into the kitchen.

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Zeus growled and threw at punch at the cave wall. Both he and Boris had managed to find shelter in an old cave. "My lord? What is the matter?" Boris inquried. Zeus huffed a little.

"That stupid brat princess foiled my plans. Damn her to the very depths of hell!" Zeus cursed. Boris shifted in position and watched the rain. It was little comfort and Boris hated rain. Always meant the Goddess of life wanted to grow something new. This resulted in a down pour which could last up to five days. Boris sighed again. "Boris, you will sneak onboard the Tate's ship tomorrow. I want you to follow the groups progress." Zeus commanded.

Boris bowed his head as best he could. "Of course, My Lord."


	13. Chapter 13

As Chris had stated that night, the gang did indeed rise bright and early the next day. The prince and his two guardians were surprised to see Alex and Gerard in the kitchen, eating breakfast before them. "Where's fire? I know Chris said early, but this is a little too early." Fate yawned, seating herself across from Alex. The princess stuck out her tongue and continued to eat her breakfast. Makoto glanced nervously at Gerard as the white mage continued to eat.

"You okay Gerard?" he questioned. Gerard glanced up and Fate noticed the worried expression in Alex's eyes.

"I'm fine Makoto. Whatever made you think I'm not." Gerard replied in a hurry. Makoto shook his head, as Chris raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing. Just that you seem a little spaced out." the dragon tamer replied and continued to eat his breakfast. Silence returned to the group as they continued to eat their breakfast. Not long after, Alister and his father joined the group. They sat at the table, watching the group eat before Max decided to speak.

"Alister and I have spoken about his current path. I have agreed to his decision." Max informed. Chris wiped his mouth and nodded his head.

"Then I am pleased to have Alister on the team."

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Boris whispered a small spell under his breath as an air-current, past underneath him. Slow, Boris began to disappear. By the time the air-current had gone so had Boris. Suddenly a leaf crunched and a twig snapped. Footsteps splashed through a puddle and padded through mud as Boris made his way towards the Tate's ship.

Forest animals looked around in a confused state. They were sure they heard something human, but couldn't see anything that could have made the noise. Nothing human, anyway. After a while, the animals returned to their ways without a second thought.

Boris neared the ship. He waited for the right moment before sneaking onboard. He waited in the cargo hold as the spell began to wear off.

-------

Alex could have laughed at the crew as they tried to get BlackMagic onto the ship. The horse thrashed and stomped his foot on the ground, causing the crew members to panic a little. The princess of Eoral rushed to their aid, calming her beloved horse down. Firestorm followed, but the daughter of Ghostrider was a little more calm about it. Only because Chris had offered to led her onto the ship before hand. Pure was the calmest out of the four horses. Makoto's horse did not like the idea of going on a boat at all.

The gang quickly boarded the ship as Max got behind the wheel. He rang a large bell to catch the crew's attention. "We must make haste. These deliverys were meant to be delivered yesturday. Quickly men!" he ordered. The crew began to rush around to get things ready for the journey. Max started the engine and the Ship jolted forward. Gerard stood at the bow of the ship, watching the waves lap at the ship. A shadow fell over him causing Gerard to tense. "It's okay Gee. It's me." Alex reassured. Gerard breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were Chris then. How are you Al?" Gerard questioned. Alex lent against the bow railing and smiled a little. She liked that new nickname, no-one had ever called her Al before.

"I'm okay. A little worried about you though. How you holding up?" the princess inquried. Gerard let a small smile grace his features.

"I'm doing good. Still have a sore head though." he muttered. The two continued to watch the waves lapping at the ship as dolphins appeared. Gerard glanced at Alex, whoes eyes were wide like a child's. _The future ruler of the demon world. She fiesty enough and strong enough to do it. _Gerard mused.

-------

Boris groaned a little and tried to find a more comfortable position. Zeus' worshipper had been hiding behind a large stack of crates. The constant rocking of the ship was making Boris feel sea-sick but he pushed the sickness down. Boris had managed to open a small crate and was beginning to eat some of the food inside it.

Suddenly Boris heard foot-steps and dived behind a larger crate. Two members of the crew talked loudly as they entered the cargo hold. One of them held a clipboard. One of the crew members stopped at the open crate and knelt down. "Hey! This crate's open." he called. Boris cursed himself for such a stupid act. The other crew member joined his friend and frowned.

"Those bites are too big to be a rat. We have a stow-away on board." the second member grunted. "Raise the alarm to the captain. We cannot afford anything to happen to our guests." he ordered. The first cew members saluted his friend and dashed upstairs. Boris knew he had to hide quickly lest he wanted to be discovered.

------

Max did not take his eyes off the sea as the crew member entered the bridge. "Captain Tate! We have a stow away on board." the crew memeber informed. Max gritted his teeth.

"Take the wheel." he ordered. The crew member took hold of the wheel as Max headed down to his son. "Alister!" Max called. Chirs watched father and son talk quietly before heading down to the cargo hold of the ship. Chris frowned as he looked over at Fate.

"Somethings up. Come on." he ordered. Fate chewed her lip but followed the prince as instructed. She glanced over to Makoto who was asleep and then to Alex and Gerard. Thankfully they had their backs to them. The hybrid wolf caught up effortlessly with Chris as they joined Max and Alister. The older Tate gasped a little as he caught sight of the prince on the stairs.

"Your highness? What are you doing here?" Max questioned. The ship gave out a little groan and shook. fate had a feeling of sea-sickness rising up in her system but she pushed it down. She was not going to let it hold her back. Chris placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"We came to help you. I gathered something was up. We are back-up." Chris informed. Max sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he nodded his head.

"Very well then, but stay close. I do not want anything to happen to you." Max replied and the group headed down the stairs into the dank bowels of the ship.

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_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Love you all!_


	14. Chapter 14

The first crew member checked off his list as Max, Alister, Chris and Fate made their way into the cargo hold. "Where's this stow-away then?" Max questioned. Chris grip tightened on his sword as he heard someone move around in the corner. Fate slowly twitched her ears and smelt the air. Alister glanced over to her, surprised to see how long and sharp her fangs had gotten and how sharp her claws were.

"I can't seem to find them. Whoever it is, they can hide pretty well." The crew member informed. Chris glanced at Fate as the hybrid wolf began to growl.

"Fate? What is it?" The prince inquried. fate turned fully to one corner of the ship and growled again. To everyone else there was nothing in that corner, but Fate knew otherwise.

"I smell Zeus." she whispered. Chris pulled his sword out. Getting down on all fours, Fate turned into her wolf self before pouncing on whatever was in the corner. Before Fate's paws actually landed on the floor, she was knocked back by some un-seen force. It knocked Fate hard, causing her to whimper and slide next to another crate. Chris walked backwards, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement. Alister got into stance as Max ordered the crew member upstairs. Chris knelt next to fate and held his hand over her wolf-form.

_"Cure."_

Fate shook her fur and nodded a thanks to the prince."What hit you?" Alister asked in a whisper. Fate shrugged her shoulders. More footsteps were heard, causing the group to turn to the left. It was beginning to seriously creep Alister out. Chris let a sly smirk grace his features.

"Whoever this stow-away is, they are very skilled with their magic." he chuckled.

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Makoto, Alex and Gerard were still busy and had not noticed that fate and Chris were gone. Makoto was still asleep, enjoying the rocking of the ship. He whimpered sometimes in his sleep, mermories of the bandit attack was still fresh in his mind.

Alex and Gerard stood at the bow of the ship, watching the water. The two had not spoke for some time, mostly because they had nothing else to say. Gerard suddenly looked up at Alex, as she continued to count the dolphins that swam along side the ship. "Al. Thanks for stopping me last night." he muttered. Alex blushed a little and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It was nothing Gee. You would have done the same." she pointed out. Gerard nodded his head a shadow flew over them. Both the princess and her guardian looked up to see Zeus smiling down at them. "Oh great. That's all we need." Alex spat. Zeus laughed loudly, almost taunting the pair to attack.

"We have to do something or he might try to sink the ship." Gerard whispered to Alex. He racked his brain for some type of plan before sighing defeated. "He's too far out of range for any of my attacks." the white mage muttered. Alex smirked.

"But he isn't for me." she chuckled and held up her hand. _"Blizzara!"_ The ice spell flew foreward, aiming straight for Zeus. Alex's smirk faded as Zeus batted it back to her. She screamed and hit the deck as Gerard stood in front of her.

_"Sheild!"_ Gerard yelled. The ice spell bounced off of Gerard and headed back to Zeus. The dark god batted it to the right where it lost it's magic and disappeared in the water. Alex slowly stood up, feeling very stupid. Zeus laughed again and continued to taunt both warriors.

--------

Alister, Max, Chris and fate were also having a small problem of their own. Whoever was running around, trying to stay out of their sight, was doing a damn good job at it. Each time Fate had sniffed them out, they would run into a different corner. "This is getting stupid." Max growled, running a hand over his face. Chris looked at fate, whoes ears were still twitching. The prince had noticed the air in the cargo hold had gotten a little colder.

"What did you mean when you could smell Zeus?" Chris inquried. The stow-away ran to a new corner. Fate spun 360 degrees, sniffing the air again.

"It's not Zeus but he has Zeus' smell all over him. I think he's a worshipper." The hybrid wolf whispered. Chris shook his head as Max stared hard at the female wolf. Even he shook his head.

"That's impossible! All of Zeus' worshippers were wiped out." Max argued. Fate did not look at him but growled again.

"Perhaps he surived the slaughter. He may be the last of his kind." Alister suggested. There came a deep rumble. The crates began to shake. Before Alister could move, two large crates came toppling down.

"Alister! Look out!" Max yelled. Alister stood rooted to the floor, unable to move. Chris charged into Alister, knocking him out of the way. The crates hit the floor with a loud bang. "Alister? Alister?!" Max called out. He sighed in relief as Alister coughed loudly. Fate jumped over the fallen crates and glared hard at the stairs.

"He went upstairs." she stated, before running upstairs. Max climbed over the fallen crates and the three males followed the female quickly.

--------

Alex had had enough.

Every attack she had tried against Zeus had turned to his favor. Without much hope left, Alex racked her brains for anymore attacks she could use. So far, Gerard's only attack he could use was sheild. The white mage noticed the black cloud making its way across the sky while Zeus continued to smirk.

Suddenly he took off. Zeus flew off without a word and disappeared into the black cloud. Gerard scratched the back of his neck. "Well, that was weird." he muttered. As Chris, fate, Alister and Max appeared on the deck, the first rain drop fell on Gerard's nose. He wiped it off quickly, rubbing his nose to keep it warm. He hated cold rain storms. Alex looked up at the sky as more rain drops fell.

"Looks like the goddess of creation is up to her tricks again." she muttered, rubbing her hands up her naked arms. Gerard frowned at the goosebumps on Alex's arm before walking to stand behind her. Without a word he hugged the princess from behind, trying his hardest to keep her warm. Alex closed her eyes, a small smile on her face. Max also frowned and returned to the bridge. The crew member saluted him with one hand while his other hand was on the wheel.

"We're not to far from the port sir. Just a few more minutes." he informed. The crew member handed the wheel back to Max as the captain put the ship into full gear. The water warrior wanted to get to the port before the rains got worst.

* * *

_Thanks to **school boredom** for reviewing!_


	15. Chapter 15

By the time the ship had docked, the rains had moved on. Max was grateful for the small mercy and ordered his crew to unload the cargo quickly. Some of the crew members were worried about the ghost in the cargo hold but Max had dismissed such foolish tales. As the crew unloaded the cargo Max turned to his son. "Now Alister, listen carefully." Max ordered. Alister nodded his head, a tight grip on the reins of his horse.

"Yes father?"

"Fight with everything you have. Show the world what a warrior you can be.Use Draciel's strenght whenever you can." Max paused as Alister nodded his head. Max slipped off his necklace from around his head and handed it to his son. It was a small tear-shaped blue jewel on a leather strap. "Amd come home to your family safe." Max added. Father and son hugged breifly before Alister mounted his horse and joined the group. The young water warrior did not look back for he knew that if he did, his father would see tears in his eyes.

------

The forest that the group travled through smelt of wet earth and a rather sweet smell that none of the group could name. Alex brought up the rear of the group, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. The sunlight made her crimson eyes dance as she searched the shadows. What Alex didn't see was the end of a hollow stick. It aimed for Alex before something blew down the other end. A small tiny dart shot out and its sharp end embedded itself in Alex's neck.

The Princess yelped loudly and slapped her neck. Chris glanced behind him. "You okay Alex? he inquried. Alex nodded her head, one hand still on her neck.

"Just a bug. That's all." she muttered before seeing a cloaked figure jump out infront of her brother's horse. "Chris! Watch out!" she yelled, causing her brother to turn round. He gasped and yanked hard on Firestorm's reins, regreting the action. The other came to a stop as well. Fate turned into her human form as she sniffed the figure.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Makoto asked, glaring at the figure. The figure did not look at him and instead glanced straight at Chris.

"I have come to talk to the prince of Eoral." the figure stated loudly. Meanwhile, Alex did not feel too good. She placed a hand on her chest. It felt as if it was caving in on her and Alex found she couldn't breath. Alex's breath came in short sharp gasps as she began to sweat. Alex coughed and heaved a little. This attracted the attention of Gerard who watched in horror as Alex's slide off Blackmagic and hit the floor.

"Show your face stranger." Chris demanded. The figure slowly removed his hood and bowed in respect to the prince. "Who are you?" Chris inquried. Gerard scooped down to Alex and felt her forehead. He shook her as she began to shiver. Alex curled up into a ball. Gerard searched around her, wondering what had gotten into the princess.

_It was only a insect bite. Insects here don't cause people to have fever type..._ Gerard trailed off as he found the 'insect'.

"I am Boris your highness. I am a worshipper of a high god and I have come to tell you this. Stop this journey to the flame god and serve my god instead. If you kneel at his feet, he will spare you and your friends and family. You will not become his servants." Boris explained. Gerard turned to look Chris.

"Chris! Alex had been poisoned!" he yelled. Chris gasped and dismounted quickly. He noticed the sly smile on Boris' face which he tried damn hard to hide. The prince looked at the other three guardians.

"Keep him in your sight." he ordered. Alister, Makoto and Fate nodded their heads and formed a tight front as Chris walked towards his sister. "Alex? Can you hear me?" he whispered. Alex whimpered and continued to shiver. Her forehead was slick with sweat. Chris could tell his twin was having trouble breathing. "What poisoned her?" Chris asked fearful. Gerard pulled a small half crushed dart into view.

"This. I've seen something like this before. My father showed me pictures and explained everything about them." Gerard paused and pointed at Boris' figure. "The little worshipper did it. He tried to poison the princess of Eoral. No doubt in my mind that he is the last Zeus worshipper in Eoral." the white mage explained. Chris growled lowly under his breath and stood up. Gerard heard, _"Not anymore."_ escape from Chris' mouth before stalking over to Boris.

"You worship the darkness god, you poisoned my twin sister and you threaten my friends and family with slavery. I think you should have chosen your words and actions before you stood before me." Chris hissed. Boris took a step back.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he stammered. Chris drew his sword and pointed it at Boris' neck.

"Oh, I think you do!" he spat before stabbing Boris in the stomach. Boris gasped loudly as Chris pulled him closer. He lent close to Boris' ear as Zeus' worshipper writhered in pain. "You can join your brothers in hell. This is the price you pay for crossing the prince and princess of Eoral." Chris whispered before drawing his sword back. Boris hit the floor, as Chris shelthed his sword. Fate ran towards Alex.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered before looking at Gerard. "Can you heal her?" she inquried. Gerard shook his head and he set Alex back on Blackmagic.

"Not fully. I can heal her until we get to the next village. Once we get there, we should be able to get Alex cured completely." Gerard explained. The other mounted their horses. Alister turned to look at Gerard.

"The nearest village is about 5 minutes away. It's a neko-jin village." he informed. Gerard nodded his head.

-----

Rin looked up from her jobs when she heard horses drawing nearier. She gasped a little when she saw Chris' armour and bowed quickly. "Your highness. It is an honour that you grace our village." she called. Chris dismounted and let Rin stand.

"Thank you for the welcome. I need to find the village healer. My sister has been poisoned." Chris explained. Rin seemed more worried then Chris and glanced towards Alex. Gerard had a hard time keeping the princess on her horse. In the end he helped her off and carried her bridal style behind Chris. Rin pointed to a house some way away.

"This way. Follow me." she urged. Chris handed the reins of his horse to fate as the remaining guardians led the horses to some stables. Fate felt a pang of saddness and worry.

_Pull through Alex. Please! You've just gotta pull through this girl._ she thought as she watched Rin, Gerard, Alex and Chris disappeared out of sight.


	16. Chapter 16

_Thank to everyone who has review so far. be sure to check out my new fanfiction in the __**Xiaolin Showdown**__ part. It's called __**Of Order and Chaos.

* * *

**_

Fate paced in front of the house. Makoto watched her for a few seconds before feeling ill and turning away. The villagers of the neko village knew something bad was happening when they saw the village elder and his best friend head into the healer's house. They whispered and pointed at the two friends. Fate tried hard to keep her anger in check. If anything she was anger at Boris for what he did to Alex. 

Alister tried to push his way through the crowd gently, so as not to upset any of the villagers. Makoto rasied his eyes at the goodies that Alister had in his arms. "What ya do? Rob a stall?" Makoto joked as Alister sat down again. The water warrior shook his head, handing Fate some food and a bottle of water. The hyrbid wolf nodded her thanks as she quietly ate the food. Makoto almost drooled as Alister gave him his share.

"The owner of the stall gathered I was a guardian. She insisted that I took this as a gift. I wanted to pay her but she wouldn't let me." Alister explained. He bit into an apple as Fate nodded her head.

"Alot of people are worried about Alex. To be frank, I don't blame them." she whispered.

-------

The village healer frowned as he inspected the dart.

From where Gerard stood, it was the clear to him the healer had never seen it before. Chris held his sister's hand as Alex slowly became worst. Gerard was losing his cool. "Don't you have anything to counter the posion? Anything at all?" he questioned. The healer turned round and shook his head sadly. Chris began to panic.

"I have not seen this strain of poison before. As far as I know there is no cure." he muttered. Chris stood up.

"You mean, my sister is going to die?" he almost yelled. Gerard held him back as the healer strunk away. He slowly nodded his head in fear that the prince may lose it. Chris felt tears prick the back of his eyes. "Please! There must be something you can do." he pleaded. The healer shook his head again.

"I am sorry your highness." he stated before leaving the house. Chris sat down and placed his head in his hands. Gerard growled and punched the wall of the room.

"I've failed. I've failed my sister. I've failed my mother and father. I've failed everyone." Chris muttered sadly, before pounding his fist against the bed. Alex groaned and shifted again. Gerard suddenly had an idea.

"Chris, you can summon demons right?" he inquried. Chris nodded his head. Since both he and his sister had demon blood, the twins could summon any demon they needed if they were in trouble. "Why don't you summon Eecho. I'm sure she can help." Gerard suggested. Chris jumped up, a large smile on his face.

"Gee, you're a genius!" he cheered. He hugged his friend quickly before taking a step back.

------

"Fate, can I ask you something."

Fate turned away from the retreating figure of the healer, and glanced over to Alister who was messing round with his necklace. The hybrid wolf nodded her head, wondering what was on his mind. "It's about Gerard. How does he know so much about Zeus?" Alister questioned. Fate and Makoto looked at each other worried. They didn't know how to explain such a touchie subject. Fate took a deep breath and decided to bite the bullet.

"Well, you see...Gerard's father was marked by Zeus when he was little. Brooklyn Kingston has been Zeus' host for as long as he can remember. The reason why we're going on this journey is to find a way to beat Zeus and return Brooklyn back to normal." Fate replied. Alister chewed over this information and nodded his head thoughtful.

"I thought Chris already told you." Makoto interjected. Alister shook his head.

"The prince didn't know how I would act. Most people would have quit this journey by now if they knew the truth about Gerard." Alister paused at glanced at the two Fate chewed her lip. Makoto stared at him, worry heavy in his eyes. "I, on the other hand, will do no such thing." he smiled. The other two returned the smile.

-------

_Poof!_

There came a loud cough as a cloud of smoke appeared in the room. "Damnations!" Eecho spluttered. The tiny demon dressed in a blood red dress, flapped her bat wings quickly and waved the smoke away from her face. "You summoned your highness."

Chris pulled the dart into view. "Alex has been poisoned. We need a cure for it." he explained. Gerard cast cure on Alex. He hoped that the spell would help hold of Alex's untimely death. Eecho peered the dart before grabbing tight hold of it.

"I know just such a cure. Hang on, I'll go fetch it." Eecho informed and was gone in the same poof of smoke. Chris prayed that Eecho would hurry as he glanced at Alex. He wasn't sure how long she could hold on.

------

_Poof!_

Eecho hated teleporting anywhere but this was no time to be bitter about it. The tiny demon flew quickly to a back bookcase and searched through the different potions that sat on the shelves. She never understood why the Grim Reaper had so many but she was glad he did. After a while Eecho finally came across a large glass jar full with a bright red liquid. "Red to combat the black. Good thing Master knows his potions." Eecho muttered and grabbed hold it.

_Poof!_

The Grim Reaper looked over the book he was reading. He was sure he had heard Eecho enter. After a while The Grim Reaper shrugged his boney shoulders and returned to his book. "I must be hearing things." he muttered.

--------

_Poof!_

Fate stared at the puff of smoke as it slowly disappeared. The three guardians had been talking to Rin was Eecho had teleported outside. The pink haired neko-jin stared at the tiny demon as Eecho looked round. The jar was feeling very heavy in her hands. "Oh double damnations!" Eecho cursed before disappearing inside the house.

"What the..."

Fate cut Rin off. "Best not to ask." she muttered.

Instead the house, Eecho huffed as handed the jar to Gerard. The white mage nodded his thanks and quickly poured it into a cup. Gerard handed it to Chris as the prince lifted his sister head. "Here Alex. Drink this." Chris ordered, placing the cup against her lips. Alex opened her mouth a fraction, but it was just enough to let the liquid pass. Alex drank the potion, before coughly violently again. Chris placed his sister down and felt her head. Her fever was going down.

Gerard turned to Eecho. "Thank you Eecho." The small demon waved it off.

"It's nothing. Anything to save the future ruler of the demon world." she muttered before disappearing in a puff of smoke once more.


	17. Chapter 17

_She couldn't believe it. _

_No, she didn't want to believe it. Her family was not dead. They couldn't be! Alex stared in horror at her father's lifeless body. Blood poured out from a wound on his neck. It soaked the carpet of the corridor and was splashed on the wall and paintings. The princess of Eoral gripped her twin ninja daggers tightly, and tried hard not to cry. Instead Alex's attention was drawn to the throne room. _

_She ran full pelt, pushing the large heavy door open with ease. Her mother's body was there to greet her. Jemma's head was been twisted all the way round. Alex dropped to her knees and cried bitter tears. She didn't want to pick her mother's dead body up. She could bring herself to do it. Another bang caught Alex's attention and she watched in horror as her brother was slammed into the wall of the throne room. Zeus was in front, sneering at the fallen prince. Before Alex could help Chris, Zeus unleash an energy ball, killing the prince of Eoral. _

_Alex..._

Shot up and screamed.

She screamed so loud it was heard over the thunder. Gerard shot up from where he was sleeping and rushed to Alex's side. "Alex! Calm down, it's okay. You're safe." He reassured, taking hold of her shoulders. Alex began to whimper.

"Chris...Chris..." She couldn't form any words. The poison was still in her system, but she knew that she felt better then before. Gerard pulled her into a hug.

"Chris is fine. He's sleeping at the inn here. Alex, it was just a bad dream." he whispered. Gerard felt Alex grip his shirt tightly and closed her eyes. Her eyelashes were wet with unshed tears. Her breathing calmed down and she slowly let down of Gerard's shirt. "You okay now?" the white mage whispered. Alex slowly nodded her head.

"I'd be happier if you slept with me." she whispered. Gerard looked at the door of the bedroom, before looking back at the princess. She caught sight of his embrassment. "Just for comfort, until I fall asleep again." she added. Gerard shrugged. Chris wasn't really going to be upset with him. Alex could make her own choices even if Chris didn't like some of her ideas. Alex's shuffled over to one side and let Gerard climb into the small bed with her.

A clap of thunder was heard, which was quickly followed by a flash of lightening. As Gerard lay down, Alex wrapped her arms round his waist and lay her head on his chest. Gerard didn't move. It wasn't long before Alex was asleep once again. Gerard sighed a little.

He was going to have fun explaining this to Chris in the morning.

-------

Eecho poured over a large black leather book, counting and recounting the different souls that had been recorded. She scratched her ear, sighing as it came off in her hand before placing it back in its place. The door to the hourglass house opened and the Grim Reaper slowly made his way down the stone stairs. _"Eecho, there you."_ Death smiled. Eecho glanced over her book.

"Hello sir. Good to see you again. How is the king and queen?" she questioned. The Grim Reaper sat down and rubbed his boney forehead.

_"Holding on I guess. My poor granddaughter is worried sick about her children."_ he replied. Eecho nodded her and returned to her book. The Grim Reaper looked at the tiny demon. _"You were summoned yesturday, weren't you?"_ he questioned.

"Yes sir."

Death kept his eye sockets on her. _"You took the potion that combats the dark poison, didn't you?"_ he inquried. Eecho didn't look up.

"Yes sir."

Death nodded his head. _"Who was poisoned?"_ he asked. Eecho stopped writing and looked at the Grim Reaper.

"The Princess sir." she replied. Death nodded his head and lasped into silence. Eecho was tempted to chew her lip but suddenly remembered what had happened in the past when she did. It had taken ages for Eecho to find another pair of lips that felt right. The little demon was not about to repeat that again. "Shall I inform the King and Queen?" she asked. Death shook his head quickly.

_"Heavens no! Jemma is worried enough."_ Death paused. _"Don't tell Jemma about that little episode. If you got the potion to Alex in time, then the princess will be cured by the time she gets home."_ Death replied.

--------

The next morning, sunlight washed over the neko village. Chris never got to see it as he was in a meeting with Lee Wong, the village elder. They sat in Lee's dojo, along with Ray Kon and his daughter Rin. The guardians were allowed to wonder round the village or to see how Alex was doing. Since Alex was in no fit state to join her brother, Chris was on his own. The prince bowed. "You requestd my pressence?" Chris asked.

Lee nodded his head and allowed Chris to sit down. "Yes. How many guardians do you have at the currant moment?" Lee inquried. Chris counted off his friends on his fingers.

"Four. May I ask why you are interested?" Chris replied. Lee smiled. he knew it was a slightly confusing thing to ask the prince but it needed to be ask. To his left, Rin shifted nervously.

"Rin has requested that she be your guardian as well. I have spoken to her and her father and both he and I agree. All we need is your approval." Lee informed. Chris glanced over to Rin. Pink hair was done up in braids and golden eyes sparkled with hope. She did not dress like her father, instead wour a short pink chinese dress with black shorts underneath. Chris could easily tell that Rin was fighter and that she would prove useful in the journey.

"I sense a warrior within your daughter Ray." Chris stated. Ray smiled at his daughter. She returned it, showing off her fangs. "Yes, Rin can be a guardian for us. She will give the team more strenght." Chri added. Rin cheered and hugged her father and uncle. She then turned her sights to Chris and bowed.

"Thank you greatly your highness."


	18. Chapter 18

**"Death darling! It's been too long!"**

The Grim Reaper looked over his book and stared hard at the person in front of him. Jemma's grandfather could not believe his eye sockets. Standing in front of him was a very old friend, one of the seven deadly sins. Lust had the body every woman craved for and wour wore a red leather outfit which showed off a bit to much skin in Death's opinion. Lust smiled at Death, waiting for him to say something. _"Eecho, fetch a chair for our guest. And some tea if you please."_ Death called. Eecho nodded her head and flew off.

**"So how have you been my friend?"** Lust asked as Eecho returned moments later with a chair. Lust nodded her thanks and sat across from Death. He slowly book marked his page and closed his book.

_"As well as I can be. What about you? What brings you here?"_ Death questioned. He hadn't seen Lust in a long time. She prefered to spent time with Pride and Greed. Those two really ticked Death off at times. The only other times Lust would drop by would be when one of her victims had died or Pride had passed on some really juicy gossip. Rarely did Lust pop by just for a chat. Lust laughed as Eecho set a tray down on the table.

**"No reason Death. I haven't seen you in ages."** Lust paused as Eecho set a tea cup in front of her. The tiny demon set one in front of Death before sitting at the side. Lust and Eecho never did get on, but the tiny demon would be damned if she was going to be pushed away. **"I hear you've been leveled up to the hight of socity."** Lust chuckled, taking a sip of her tea. Death shook his head.

_"Pride is going to be jealous I suspect. No, it's just the king chose my granddaughter as his bride."_ Death shrugged. Lust's eyes widened.

**"Really? I must see Jenna again. It's been too long!"** Lust squeaked. Eecho sighed loudly and placed her cup down. Lust glared at the tiny demon. **"Do you have something to say?"** the deadly sin hissed. Eecho glared back.

"Her name is Jemma. J-E-M-M-A. Please use her correct name in future." Eecho replied. Lust huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Death was sure that Lust's chest was going to pop out of her outfit. He shuddered at the thought. Eecho got up. "If you'll excuse me sir. I need to sort out the records."

_"Yes, Yes of course."_ Death agreed. Eecho smiled and bowed before flying off somewhere.

--------

"Come on Chris! Please!"

Chris sighed. He hated it when he was out-voted. The gang, now with Rin, were going through the pixie forest. It was deemed a shortcut by Rin and Chris wanted to get to the shrine quickly. However they had all come across a hotspring and Alex wanted to try it. The prince turned to his sister. "We have a job to do in case you've forgotten." he pointed out. Alex pouted.

"I haven't forgotten! Come on Chris!" she whined further. What was even worst was the fact the others had taken Alex's side. Chris rubbed his forehead.

"If the pixies find us they will kill us, you know that." he argued. Pixie hated everything but their own kind. They detested humans for some reason and Chris wasn't going to dwell on it. Not did he want to find out what they would do if they caught them. Chris had heard stories. Bad stories. Fate shrugged.

"We know. We can take care of ourselves Chris. Losen up for a bit." The hybrid wolf pup replied. Chris sighed loudly again before nodding his head.

"Okay Okay!" he muttered admitting defeat. Alex squeaked and hugged her brother. They split into two groups, male and female, and headed off to the different hotsprings. Chris knew something bad was going to happen.

--------

Death wished Lust would leave.

She would not stop talking and it was driving him crazy. The trouble was Lust never stayed on one topic long enough for Death to reply. **"...And I was talking to Gluttony the other day. Wish I hadn't. He has terrible table manners. Anyway..."** Death looked at the ceiling and wished for something to stop her talking. Nothing came.

_"Shouldn't you be doing some sin? I remember you getting into a spot of bother because you didn't reach your target."_ Death pointed out. Lust pulled a face.

**"Just because you don't have a quota to finish. I guess I would rather stay at home if I was part of the royal family."** Lust sighed. Before Death could reply, Lust began again. **"Pride and Greed are always talking about you. Always saying you're too good to hang round with us."**

_"Pride and Greed get on my nerves. The others are okay. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check on ym granddaughter and grandson-in-law."_ Death muttered and got up. Lust pulled another face behind his back as the collector of souls disappeared upstairs. The deadly sin finshed her tea and disappeared leaving Eecho on her own.

-------

"This feels great."

Rin nodded her head and lay back in the spring. The two springs were back to back with a large rock formation in the way. Alex slowly closed her eyes. She was now fully healed and the water did her good.

_"What do you think you're playing at?"_

Alex's eyes snapped open as Rin sat up. Hovering in front of the group was four pixies. The three females and the pixies stared at each other, before the leader pixie huffed. "If you don't leave, we'll kill you!" it snapped. Alex growled a little.

"I am the princess of Eoral. How dare you threaten me in such a manner!" she hissed. The pixie chuckled.

"You may be the princess, but that won't stop us. Move or die!" it replied. Alex would have stood up and flicked it away but standing up was a bit of a problem. There was no way Alex was going to show off her body for the pixies. Not in this life time. Rin glanced at her daggers knowning she would never reach them in time. Fate smirked. "We're warning you!" the leader pixie spat.

"Hey!" Fate yelled. The pixies looked at the hybrid wolf as she summoned a large wave of water. Before the pixies had any chance of escaping, the wave smacked into them. The pixies hit the floor, coughing and spluttering. On the male side, something similar had happened. The leader pixie got up.

"Mark my words! You will suffer for your act!" the pixie disappeared soon after. Rin swam over to her clothes.

"I think we should get going now." she pointed out. Alex nodded her head as the two other females followed the neko-jin. The females got dressed quickly, before the boys joined them. "Pixie trouble?" Rin inquried, a grin on her face. Chris ran a hand through his wet hair.

"I told you. Didn't I tell you." he hissed. Alex rolled her eyes as she placed her head-band back on.

"Yeah, yeah we get the picture." she grumbled.


	19. Chapter 19

The gang seemed to race through the pixie forest. None of them wanted to meet their death at the hands of a pixie. Chris shuddered despite himself. He never did like pixies. The gang said little as they come to the other side of the forest. Standing before them was the great shrine to the flame god Dranzer.

Only problem was, there was another group of bandits attacking the shrine.

Chris sighed and dismounted. "When will these guys ever learn?" he muttered, unsheathing his sword. His sister joined his side, twin ninja daggers in her hand.

"Bandits are slow learners Nee-san." She grinned. Once the princess knew Fate was ready they ran into battle. Chris growled a little under her breath.

"It seems you are also a slow learner my dear sister." He muttered. Gerard laughed a little.

"It's in her nature to be like this Chris. She'll never change." He pointed out. Chris could only nodded his head.

-------

"Give me all the money old man!"

The elder shrine leader shook his head and clutched a collection box tightly. "This money is for our lord Dranzer. You will not take it." He retorted. The bandit chuckled and took a step forward.

"Listen old man. Either you give it to us willing, or I will kill you and take it anyway." The man spat. The elder shrine leader stood firm but he was worried. If help did not arrive son, the temple would be destroyed.

"_Leave the old man alone!"_

The bandit leader spun round to see Alex and Fate. "Look what we have here. You looking for a good time darling?" the bandit leader chuckled. Alex pointed her dagger at the bandit.

"I am Princess Alexandra Serenity Hiwatari. I order you to leave here at once!" she commanded. The shrine leader smiled. He had waited so long for the princess and prince to arrive at the shrine. Speaking of the prince, where was he? The bandit leader took a step forward to Alex.

"So you're the princess. Must admit, not what I thought." He sneered before raising his fist. Suddenly he was kicking in the side. The leader bounced along the floor then turned his sights to see Chris. "You are?" the leader spat.

"I am Prince Christopher Foma Hiwatari. You will not lay a finger on my sister." Chris barked. The leader chuckled and leapt forward to fight Chris. The prince stood ready as Alex pouted.

"Always taking away my fun. Not fair." She whined.

---------

The bandits had been taken care and the group had been inside the shrine. Chris and Alex were led to a small room. Inside was a large alter and nothing much else. When the door to the room was closed, the twins knelt at the alter and prayed. They had not been praying long when they heard a voice.

"**And you might be?"**

Chris and Alex looked up and backed up. Sitting in the alter was Dranzer. He was inspecting something on his left hand. Chris decided to speak. "We are the prince and princess of Eoral." He stated.

"**Oh yes. Prince Christopher Hiwatari and Princess Alexandra Hiwatari. Now I remember."** Dranzer paused to face them. **"So, what's all the fuss?"**

"Zeus has taken control of Brooklyn's body. We came to find out a way of returning Brooklyn to the way he was and to claim our birth right." Alex informed. Dranzer raised an eyebrow.

"**Birth right? You can't both rule Eoral."** He pointed out. Chris nodded his head.

"We already know that. I am to rule Eoral while my sister, Alex, rules the demon world." He replied. Dranzer tapped his chin.

"**Well, I've never had this problem before. No royal before your father had twins. Not that I remember anyway."** Suddenly Dranzer snapped his fingers. **"I've got it! Ember!"**

The twins shielded their eyes from a bright light before hearing a child like voice. _**"Yes Father?"**_

"You have a daughter?" Alex inquired. Standing next to Dranzer was a young female warrior. It was clear she was Dranzer's daughter. The flame god nodded his head.

"**Even Gods can fall in love."** He pointed out, one hand clasped on his daughter's shoulder.


	20. Chapter 20

_Thank you everyone! I'm on half-term now so I get to update more. Yayness!

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Dranzer paced slightly. 

He was hoping that his daughter would not get dragged into anything like this, but Dranzer knew it was the only way. After all, he couldn't spilt himself in two. Alex tapped her foot before sighing loudly. "Do you know a way to cure Brooklyn or not?" she huffed. Chris scowled at his sister for being rude to the flame god. Dranzer nodded his head.

**"Of course I do. Banishing a dark god to the shadow realm is the only way really. It means me and Ember have to get inside Brooklyn's mind for it to work."** Dranzer replied. Ember looked at her father with a slight frown.

"So will you help us?" Chris questioned. Dranzer whislted loudly. The twins looked at each other wondering what was going on. Ember glided back to the alter and sat down. She clasped her hands together and placed them on her lap, like a small child. Two shadow creatures appeared at Dranzer's side.

**"Pass this one test and I will help you. You must defeat these shadow creatures before I can do anything."** Dranzer shrugged. **"Your father did it and your grandfather did it. Nothing I can do about it." **Dranzer stated and sat down next to his daughter. Both brother and sister sighed loudly and got ready.

-------

Jemma looked out the window and stared at the sky. _Another sunset and the twins have not returned. I hope nothing has happened to them._ she muttered in her head. The Queen of Eoral shook her head quickly. _I must not think like that._ she hissed.

Then there came a clatter.

Jemma jumped and turned to look at the library door. "Hello?" she called. Silence came but it did nothing to ease Jemma's nerves. "Stitches? Kai? Grandpa?" she called. There came another clatter, this time down the corrdior. Jemma glanced down said corridor, watching the rays of light dance across the plush red carpet. Jemma frowned a little and reached under her black and red kimono. Tied to her thigh was a small dagger. It kept it with her at all times in case of trouble.

"I'm giving you the count of three to show yourself!" Jemma yelled as she made her way down the corridor. There came another thump and another clatter. Jemma kept her eyes on the shadows.

"1."

Her knuckles turned white as she grip her dagger tightly.

"2."

The noise was getting louder. Jemma stopped and found herself standing outside Chris' studyroom. The queen raised the dagger.

"3!"

Suddenly something shot out of the shadows and pinned Jemma against the wall. "Hello your highness. It's been too long." the figure chuckled. Jemma gasped loudly as she stared into golden eyes. She tried to get free, but the figure was too strong for her.

"What are you doing here Zeus?" she snapped. Zeus tutted and brought his face inches away from her own. Jemma tried hard not to panic.

"I came to see you and your husband, your highness. I always came to take the throne of Eoral and rule in your husbands place." Zeus chuckled. He lent forward to kiss Jemma when he suddenly groaned in pain. Jemma had managed to knee him in the groin. As Zeus' hold weakened, Jemma tore herself away and ran down the corridor. Zeus stood up on shaky knees. "You can run, but you can't hide!" he yelled.

_Curse this outfit. Why did I chose to wear my kimono today of all days._ Jemma cursed to herself as she turned a corner. Bryan caught sight of Jemma and frowned. The frown turned into shock as Jemma was suddenly thrown into a nearby wall. A hole was created from the impact and dust rose in the air. Bryan was sure Jemma was now in the room. The captain of the guards turned to his daughter.

"Nina. Raise the alarm! We have trouble." he ordered. Nina nodded her head and took off as Bryan ran towards the Queen. "Your highness! Your highness, are you alright?" Bryan yelled as he peered into the room. he heard coughing as Jemma pulled herself out of the rumble.

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Alex wiped her lip free from blood.

The fight between her and the shadow creature had been going on long enough. It was the same with Chris and the other shadow creature. Alex growled lowly. Her left hand twitched as her ninja daggers began to glow black. Ember poked her father in the arm. _**"Father, look at Alexandra's daggers."**_ she whispered. Dranzer frowned and looked over to Alex. He gasped.

Alex looked at her daggers and smirked. She rememebered her mother telling her about an attack long ago. No one in her family had used it in battle as it was a very rare attack to use. Alex looked back at the shadow creature and held her daggers in front of her. The creature cocked its head as Alex got into stance.

_"DEMON BLADE!"_

The ninja daggers were thrown at an impressive speed. The creature had little time to dodged as they tore through it. The creature hissed as black fire began to eat away at it's wounds. Alex caught her weapons and watched the creature stumbled back. Alex held up her hand. _"Firaga."_ she whispered. The fire spell engulfed the creature, burning it to a crisp. Chris glanced over to his sister before looking back at the second creature. An idea had struck him.

Chris' sword began to glow bright red making the shadow creature back up. Dranzer clapped his hands. **"Now we're talking!"** he cheered before being hushed by his daughter. Chris closed his eyes.

_"PHOENIX FLARE!"_

The phoenix sword tore through its target. The creature hissed loudly as the fire began to eat away at the gaping hole. The creature hit the floor as Chris and Alex turned their attention to the god and his daughter. "Do we pass your test?" Alex asked. Dranzer stood up, quickly followed by his daughter.

**"Yes you do. I have to uphold my end of the deal."** Dranzer paused as Ember stood infront of Alex. **"I warn you now. This is going to hurt."** Dranzer placed two fingers against Chris' forehead. Ember did the same with Alex.

In all their life, the twins had never known such pain.

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"Your highness!" Bryan called. He ran over to Jemma and pulled her out of the rumble. Her kimono was torn and blood dripped down her skin. "Are you alright?" Bryan questioned. Jemma pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. It had come undone and was now covered in dust.

"Yes, I think." Jemma paused as Bryan helped her up. "We must find Kai. Zeus is here. He wants to take over..." Jemma was cut off as Zeus appeared in front of Bryan and herself. There was a dangerous smirk on Zeus' lips but the dark god said nothing. Bryan drew his sword.

"Your highness, you must locate the king. Inform him of our problem. Nina has already raised the alarm." Bryan stated. Jemma stared hard at the captin.

"What about you?"

Zeus' smile fell a little as he looked between the two. His smile returned when Bryan drew his sword and pointed the tip at his neck. "I will hold this monster at bay. Go your higness." Bryan replied. Jemma did not move causing Bryan to growl loudly. "Go!" he yelled as he lept into battle. Jemma shut her eyes and ran down the corridor. She knew Bryan would survie. He had to for Nina's sake. Jemma slipped as she rounded a corner, cursing the wounds on her legs.

She just hoped she found Kai in time.


	21. Chapter 21

Kai was surprised to hear the alarm being called. truth be told, it was actually the first he had ever heard the alarm. As he stood in front of the window of his study, Kai watched the palace guards rush into the courtyard. Bryan was nowhere to be seen and neither could Nina. Suddenly the study door slammed open then shut. Kai spun round and gasped. "Jemma? What on earth happened to you?" he inquried, rushing to his wife's side. Jemma fought to catch her breath as Kai looked at the blood running down her skin. Her kimono was slashed in places. Kai frowned. That Kimono was his favourtie one.

"Zeus. Zeus is here." Jemma paused and took in another deep breath. "He wants to take the throne from you and rule Eoral." she informed. Kai gritted his teeth.

"Where's Bryan?" he inquried. Jemma bent forward and ripped the bottom half of her kimono. It was no good to her now and was even more of a pain to fight in. Jemma cursed Zeus for what he had. It was her favourtie Kimono as well.

"Fighting Zeus. He kept the dark god at bay so I could find you." Jemma replied. Kai spun on his heel and walked over to a cabinet. Unlocking it, the King of Eoral pulled out two swords. One was the real Phoenix sword. The sword that Chris had was a replacement that Dranzer created at Kai's request. It served it's purpose well. The second sword was a black Katana. This was Jemma's second prized weapon. Her first was the family scythe. The Katan was made from demon steel much like every other weapon Jemma had. Kai calmly walked over to Jemma and handed her the sword.

"I know this is too much to ask, but are you willing to join the fight?" Kai asked. He didn't want to put his wife in anymore danger seeing as she was already battered and bruised. Jemma smiled. Like every other woman in Eoral, she did not back away from a fight. No matter how great the odds were against them. Jemma slowly took her sword from Kai and held it tightly. So tightly, he knuckles were turning white.

"I will fight along side you Kai. As I have always done in the past." she replied.

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Fate turned her attention to a lone white door at the far of the shrine. No sooner had she caught sight of Chris, the hybrid wolf ran towards the prince. "Chris? Are you..." the hybrid wolf trailed off when she saw the prince's new look. A large gold marking was on his forehead and Chris' eyes did not seem to belong to him. The prince lent against the frame of the door and slowly closed his eyes. Fate licked her lips. "Chris, are you okay?" she whispered.

Chris opened his eyes and turned to face her. He nodded his head. "Yeah. It feels very weird at the moment, but I'm sure I'll get use it to." he replied. Alex joined his side. On her forehead was a large black triangle shape. Her crimson eyes had a swirl of black which appeared and disappeared at different times.

"We have to get home. Now." Alex hissed, clutching her head. Chris winced and clutched his head as well.

"Guys? What's going on?" Alister questioned as he ran up to them. Rin and Makoto soon followed.

"We have to go home now." Alex stated again and pushed her way to the front. Chris followed his sister, dragging Fate behind him. "Where's Gerard?" Alex called. She was greeted by the white mage outside as he tended to his horse.

"Is everything alright Alex?" Gerard asked. He knew deep down something was wrong. He could feel Zeus' power rising by the second. Something was very wrong. Gerard watched Alex push her way to the front of the group.

"Hold on to the reins of your horses. We have no time to ride back." Alex ordered. Makoto, Rin, Alister, Chris and Gerard grabbed hold of the reins of their horses. Fate held onto Blackmagic as Alex created a portal. "Zeus is at the palace. He is targetting mother and Father. We leave now." Alex informed as the portal washed over them.

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By the time Jemma and Kai found Bryan, the Captain was nursing a few new cuts. His breathing was ragged and heavy. "Bryan! Brayn, are you alright?" Kai asked, kneeling beside the Captain. Bryan opened his unbruised eye and smiled.

"It is good to see you, your highness." he whispered.

"Don't you dare die on me Bryan. You hear me? That's an order." Kai replied firmly. Bryan could tell that the King and Queen of Eoral were panicing. Bryan sat up and shook his head. He wasn't about to die yet. His daughter still needed him.

"Zeus has broken one of my ribs, that's all your highness. I'm not dying yet. I still have much to do." Bryan replied and stood up. Jemma stopped him from toppling over.

"You should get to the infirmary. If I see Nina, I will send her to you." Jemma informed. Bryan looked at her before nodding his head. "Thank you for before Bryan." Jemma called as ambled off. Bryan smiled at the Queen before both royals ran towards the throne room. Kai pushed the large wooden doors open, letting them bang against the walls.

Nothing.

Zeus wasn't there.

Kai chewed his bottom lip and walked over to the thrones. Jemma was closely behind. The sun streamed through the large glass windows, as if unaware of the chaos that would soon happen. Then a shadow fell over them. Jemma and Kai turned their attention to the window. Before they could make a move the shadow flew into the throne room, shattering the windows. Jemma screamed as Kai was knocked into the far wall of the throne room. "Zeus! Stop this maddness!" Kai yelled.

Zeus laughed and tighted his grip around Kai's throat. "You won't be giving out orders much longer, _your highness_." he hissed. Jemma ran up behind the dark god and kicked him in the side. When Zeus' grip weakened a little, Kai swung a punch at Zeus. The dark god stumbled back and wiped a hand over his nose. Black blood from poruing from it. This only served the make Zeus smirk even more.


	22. Chapter 22

_Thank you to **SchoolBoredom** for reviewing._

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The Grim Reaper looked up as a portal opened in his home. _"Now what do you want Lust?"_ He sighed, closing his book. The collector of souls was surprised to see his grandchildren and their guardians.

"Gandfather, Zeus is in the castle." Chris informed, as Alex headed for the steps. The Grim Reaper grabbed his scythe.

_"And is there a reason why you're down here and not up there?"_ He inquried. Rin nodded her head as the other guardians followed Alex.

"We need to catch him off guard." Chris cut in.

"Grandfather, we need your help with something important." he stated. The Grim Reaper nodded his head and followed his grandchildren upstairs.

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Kai unsheathed his sword and got into stance. Zeus continued to smirk before flying to the side. Kai ran after him, but stopped when he saw that Zeus had a tight grip on Jemma. "Let me go! I demand you let me go this instance!" Jemma screamed.

Zeus lent forward and mashed his lips against Jemma. The demon queen continued to hit Zeus in the chest but the dark god was too strong for her. Kai ran forward and stabbed the dark god through his left wing. Zeus screamed in pain as he dropped Jemma. The demon queen hit the floor with a thump. Kai pointed the tip of his sword at Zeus. "Don't you dare touch my wife!" Kai spat.

Zeus shook the blood from his wing and smiled. "When I get rid of you, she won't be your wife anymore." Zeus' wings unfolded themselves and stretched to their full length. "She will be mine."

Kai snorted. "Over my dead body!" he yelled. Zeus let out a loud laugh.

"Just what I planned _your highness_." He sneered and backhanded Kai. The king of Eoral stumbled before lashing out. He slashed the air in front of Zeus, trying to stab the god but Zeus grabbed Kai's sword and yanked it out of his hand. "Without a weapon, how are you meant to protect your blushing beauty?" Zeus chuckled.

Kai stood in front of Jemma, narrowing his eyes at the god. "Jemma, get out of here." He whispered. Jemma shook her head.

"I'm not leaving you Kai. I didn't when I was a guardian and I sure as hell ain't going to leave you now." She argued. Kai gritted his teeth but inside he was smiling. The resolve and moral of his queen was just what he needed to get him through. Zeus held up his hand.

"Too bad, so sad." He mocked and let a dark energy ball fly at the couple. Jemma and Kai closed their eyes but the energy ball never made contact. A cold wind blew through the throne room.

"_You gods never learn, do you."_ Sighed the Grim Reaper. He stood in front of the couple, a shield around all three. Zeus gritted his teeth and threw the phoenix sword to one side.

"Stay out of this you bag of bones!" he yelled. "You can't fight. You could never fight!" Zeus raged. If the Grim Reaper could smile, he would have.

"_Oh I'm not the one going to fight you."_ He paused and pointed to the throne room door. _"They are."_

As if on cue the door was thrown open. Jemma smiled widely as Alex and Chris stood in the doorway. Fate, Alister, Gerard, Rin and Makoto ran over to the king and queen. Gerard helped the Grim Reaper strength the shield around them. Zeus laughed loudly. "The twins? What can they do to harm me?" he questioned.

It was then he felt the energy.

Both twins doubled over as their bodies began to glow. Alex hit the floor on all fours as a pair of black angels wings pushed themselves out of her back. Chris managed to stand as a pair of red and gold angel wings pushed themselves out of his back. Zeus stumbled back, wondering what had happened to the twins.

Alex stood up. The twins looked at the dark god and got into stance. "Zeus! Leave Brooklyn's body at once or suffer for your actions." Alex yelled. Zeus also got into stance.

"Do your worst you half-breed brat!" Zeus taunted. He didn't see Chris until it was too late. The prince slammed into the god and began to throw punch after punch. The last punch the prince threw was caught by Zeus who swung Chris round. The god let go and Chris slammed into a large painting. Alex gritted her teeth and attacked.

"Do you think they'll win?" Rin questioned. Makoto shrugged, but Gerard nodded his head.

"I know they will. They have to win." He whispered. Jemma decided to speak.

"Have faith in the future rulers. I can sense their strength and resolve to win." She whispered, clutching her family locket. The Grim Reaper nodded his head.

"_Both have the power to become great heirs. This is but one small problem they will overcome."_ He stated. The princess was fairing a lot better then her brother. Her surprise attack had well and truly caught Zeus off guard.

Zeus let a punch fly but the princess caught it and smirked. "Have a taste of your own medicine." She smirked and swung Zeus in the nearest wall. Chris took that moment to attack and kicked the dark god in the back. Zeus flew foreword into Alex' fire attack.

Zeus hit the floor and bounced. Smoking was rising from his body as the dark god looked up and growled. "I won't go down that easily!" he barked. Alex and Chris fluttered down to stand either side of him.

"Good." Chris smirked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Neither will we." Alex finished. Gerard began to panic. If the twins didn't banish Zeus from his father's mind, he feared that they might kill his father. Gerard shook his head.

_Don't think such foolish thoughts! They know what they are doing. They have to weaken him before Dranzer and Ember can get anywhere near my father's mind._ Gerard thought. The Grim Reaper glanced over to the white mage and sighed. He knew this was very tough for him.


	23. Chapter 23

Alex's hands turned into fists. In the back of her brain, Ember was screaming and cursing Zeus everything she could think of. And rightly so.

Chris had just suffered the worst beating at the hands of the dark god. Zeus began to laugh at Chris' beaten form before sensing an energy rise. The dark god glanced over to Alex as the princess' bangs were pushed up. A black aura appeared round Alex, as she placed both fists together and closed her eyes. "What is she doing?" Rin questioned. The pink haired neko-jin looked round but no-one had an idea on what was going on.

_"Black Rage!"_

Alex flew at Zeus and landed a punch right in Zeus' gut. As the god doubled over, Alex slammed her elbow into his back. Zeus hit the floor before rolling to one side. He let lose his own attack, but each attack was blocked by Alex. She kicked Zeus in the head, causing him to topple to one side. Chris glanced over to the others. "Alister! Fate! Now!" he yelled. The water Guardian and the hybrid wolf jumped into view and both took up the same stance.

Zeus watched as Alex grabbed her twin brother and dragged him out of the firing line. "What's amatter brat?" Zeus sneered, until he saw Alister and Fate. "What on earth?"

_"Waterga!"_

A jet of water smacked Zeus in the chest. It soaked him through causing the god to panic. Alex remembered Gerard telling her that Zeus was afraid of water. It also proved to help another part of her plan. Alex only hoped that Rin was ready for such a task. Zeus teleported from view causing both Alister and fate to stop their water attack. Everyone was on high alert. There came a loud _woosh_ and Zeus appeared to their right. "Fate!" Chris yelled, but it was too late. Zeus backhanded Fate who smacked into Alister. Both warriors went sailing to the right. The twins knew they were too far away to even reach them in time before they hit the wall.

Then something amazing happened.

Both Alister and Fate were caught by Spencer. Zeus stood still and stared at the blond giant, somewhat confused. He was not the only one. "Spencer? Where the hell did you come from?" Fate questioned as the said guard placed both of the warriors down.

"Secret door." was all Spencer said as he glared at Zeus. He would have run into battle with Zeus if Alister did not tug hard on his hand.

"Please sir. Don't." he begged. Spencer nodded his head and joined the group behind the Grim Reaper. As Zeus was distracted, Chris nodded to Rin. The neko-jin jumped high in the air and powered up. A pink light appeared round her body. Alex smiled. It seemed that Rin did not need her family tigers to do her part in the plan.

_"Thundaga!"_

A jolt of pink lightening hit Zeus hard, then was followed by a jolt of green lightening. Zeus bowed down, trying to deal with the heavy attack. Now he saw their plan. Rin's lightening attack would be far worst if he was soaking wet. Zeus chuckled a little. _Clever little brats._ he thought bitterly. Rin hit the floor on all fours before flipping backwards behind the safety of the sheild.

Zeus tried to stand. "Very clever for you to think of that." he hissed. Chris calmly walked over to Zeus before the dark god grabbed his foot and slammed him down. Zeus sneered at Chris. "But not good enough."

Chris let his fist fly, catching Zeus square in the jaw. As the dark god backed up, Chris backflipped and kicked Zeus in the chin. Zeus hit the floor, running his tongue along the inside of his mouth. He caught blood. Lots of blood. Before Zeus had a chance to move two blades were pointed at his neck. "Do you yeild?" Chris hissed. Zeus began to laugh.

"Yeild? To the likes of you? Never!" Zeus spat. Suddenly a pain raced through his head. The god clutched the sides of his head and screamed. "I never asked you to add your opinion! Shut up this instance Brooklyn!" Zeus yelled. Gerard felt a pang of happiness wash over him.

"Come on Dad! I know you can win! Please!" Gerard encouraged. Zeus looked up, his eyes returning to normal.

"G-G-Gerard?" he whispered. Gerard smiled widely but did not move. He had to stay and keep the sheild going. Zeus then looked at the twins. "Please. You must let Dranzer and Ember enter my mind. Now, I beg you please." he pleaded. Both twins shethed their blades and knelt down infront of Zeus. They both placed two fingers on Zeus' forehead. Suddenly there came a blinding light sending the trio to different ends of the room.

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Ember glanced around nervously. _**"Father. I can't see anything."**_ she whispered. Dranzer placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

**"It'll be alright Ember. Don't lose your wits or your head."** he stated. Ember nodded her head before hearing something. It sounded like fighting. Something went crack as someone hit a hard wall. Dranzer and Ember flew to the scene. Ember's hand flew up to her mouth as she muffled a gasp. Zeus had almost beaten Brooklyn to a plup. **"Zeus! Stop this at once!"** Dranzer roared.

_**"You're going to kill him!"**_ Ember yelled. Brooklyn opened his unbruised eye and smiled at Ember. Blood ran down his chin. Numerous cuts were shown on his body and his once proud white mage outfit was now tattered and torn. Zeus stood up and laughed.

_"And what are you doing to do about it?"_ he chuckled. Dranzer looked briefly at his daughter who ran to Brooklyn's side. The flame god then got into stance.

**"You will regret ever marking this boy Zeus. I swear on it."** Dranzer hissed and launched foreward. Zeus stood ready and the fight between the gods began. Ember let Brooklyn rest his head on her lap. He looked up at her and smiled again. Ember let a small smile grace her features before turning back to the fight.

"You're helping Alex, aren't you?" Brooklyn suddenly inquried. Ember looked startled but looked back at him and nodded her head. "You look just like her. Gerard's always loved the princess. Has he told her?" he asked. Ember blushed a little.

_**"I suspect not Brooklyn."**_ she replied. Brooklyn sighed a little as Ember wiped away the blood from his chin.

"Pity." he mumbled and closed his eyes. Ember paniced slightly. The last thing she wanted was for Brooklyn to die now. The younger flame goddess placed two fingers against Brooklyn's neck and felt for a pulse. She paniced again when she couldn't feel a pulse. Suddenly she felt it. A weak pulse, but one nonetheless. Happy that Brooklyn was still holding on, Ember turned her attention to the fight.

Seeing as Dranzer was not badly hurt, he was fairing a lot better against Zeus. The Dark god was having a hard time keeping up against all the attacks. **"Face it Zeus. You're fighting a losing battle."** Dranzer hissed. Zeus laughed loudly.

_"I will win!"_ Zeus yelled and the fight continued.

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_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. Too more chapters and everything will come to a close_


	24. Chapter 24

Brooklyn had fallen asleep as Dranzer and Zeus continued to fight. Ember cradled his head on her lap, hoping that the white mage would hold on a little longer. She knew that after this fight, Brooklyn and Gerard would be free from the terror. There came a crack causing Ember to look up. Zeus had received a painful kick to the chest from Dranzer. Both father and daughter knew one of Zeus' ribs were broken.

Zeus doubled over, gasping for air. _"I will not lose. Not to the likes of you."_ Zeus hissed. He muttered something under his breath and managed to heal himself. His body was still in bad shape but his rib no longer hurt. Dranzer got into stance.

**"I heard the same thing from my sister. She lost. The same fate will befall you as well."** he stated. Zeus laughed loudly and too got into stance. Ember prayed her father would hurry up and win the fight. She never liked being in the same room or place as Zeus.

_"The boy is mine. The throne of Eoral will soon be mine."_ Zeus sneered. It was Dranzer's turn to laugh. It was a low chuckle before turning into a full blown laugh. Zeus growled under his breath. _"What's so funny!"_ he demanded. Dranzer wiped a tear from his eye and pointed a finger at Zeus.

**"I have delt with my sister and her plans to take the throne. My bloodline will always rule Eoral. You have no right and no place ruling such a fair land. I worked hard to keep it the way it is and I don't need another dark god trying to turn it into something else, for their own wicked pleasures."** Dranzer paused and got back into stance. **"Prepare to lose Zeus."**

The battle continued to rage. Ember could sense both power's rising to unbelievavle heights. Even if she didn't want to admit it, it scared Ember a lot. Brooklyn shifted in his sleep. Ember glanced at him then back up, noticing how close the waring gods were getting. Whispering a small spell under her breath, a sheild appeared around them.

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The others had run to the trio. Kai picked up his son and placed next to his daughter. Spencer picked up Brooklyn and placed him next to the twins. Gerard was by his father's side, tears leaking down his face. Fate held onto Chris' hand as Jemma cradled Alex's head in her lap. Kai turned to look at Spencer. "Spencer, please fetch May-lin for us." he ordered.

"Of course your highness." Spencer took off, running out of the throne room and to one of the guest rooms. May-lin Kingston had spent the few weeks in the palace under the watchful eye of the royal family. The Grim Reaper frowned greatly watching the markings on his grandchildren's forehead glow. Spencer returned with May-lin in tow. The female white mage gasped and knelt next to her husband.

"Brooklyn? Can you hear me Brooklyn?" May-lin whispered. Brooklyn said nothing. "Oh Brooklyn! Please come back. I beg you." May-lin pleaded. Gerard took one of her hands into his own, hoping the small act of warmth would give her some comfort. Suddenly their hands began to glow white. May-lin and Gerard stared at each other, sharing the same idea. They placed the palms of their left hand together and got the same reaction. May-lin closed her eyes. "The knowledge of the Ancients guide you in battle." she whispered.

"The power of the mages aid you in battle." Gerard whispered, his eyes also closed. The others stared at the white mages, wondering what was happening.

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Dranzer clasped his hand round Zeus' neck tightly and glanced at his daughter. **"Ember, I need your help."** He called. Ember nodded her head and held up both hands. An invisable link appeared when Dranzer held up his free hand. Dranzer began to chant under his breath as silver chains appeared out of the darkness. They wrapped around Zeus' body giving Dranzer the chance to use both hands.

_"What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?" _Zeus inquried struggling to get free. Dranzer said nothing as the chanting grew. Suddenly Brooklyn's eyes flew open. He sat up quickly dispite his body still being racked in pain.

_**"Brooklyn? What are you doing? Please, you must be still."**_ Ember ordered as she kept her hands held in the direction of her father. Brooklyn stood up, hearing the chanting of his wife and son. Brooklyn said nothing as stood behind the flame goddess and placed his hands ontop of her own. Dranzer watched the display but did not stop chanting. _**"Brooklyn?"**_ Ember inquried.

"I am merely helping. The strenght, resolve, courage and belief my wife and son have for me is enough. With this renewed strenght, I can help banish Zeus into the shadow realm." Brooklyn replied. Zeus began to struggle wildly.

_"You wouldn't! Brooklyn, you wouldn't dare!"_ Zeus was cut off from his rage when a large portal opened up behind him. Dranzer stopped chanting and smirked at the dark god.

**"Even the mighty fall Zeus. You will feel the torment and pain you have given Brooklyn. You will truely regret what you have done to him and his family."** Dranzer paused as the portal seemed to engulf the struggling dark god. **"Oh and give my regards to my sister while you'll there."** he smirked. Before Zeus had a chance to reply, the portal swallowed him whole and closed forever.

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Jemma began to smile when Alex slowly opened her eyes. "Hey mom." Alex greeted. Fresh tears began to flow down the Queen's face.

"Alexandra! I thought I lost you then." she cried. Alex smiled a little. Her eyelids felt heavy, so very heavy. Jemma knew a lot of strenght and power had gone into the attacks. "Rest my daughter. You deserve it." Jemma whispered as Alex snuggled closer to her mother. Fate smiled as Chris opened his eyes.

"Fate. Father." he greeted, sitting up. He regretted the action as a pain shot through his system. Kai placed a hand on his son's shoulder as Fate placed both hands on his arm.

"Take it easy Chris. You're gonna feel very sore after this." Kai stated. Chris yawned loudly causing Kai to chuckled a little. "A sleepy." he added as Chris slumped against Fate. the hybrid pup wrapped her arms around him as Kai turned to the other three guardians. "Guardians. I am amazed at your acts and pleased that you have helped my son and daughter. Anything that you request, I shall see to it that it is granted." Kai stated.

Rin, Makoto and Alister bowed in front of the King. "I think that we would all like to return home." Rin spoke. Kai nodded his head.

"Yes, I gathered as much. No-one would want to be from their home as long as needed." Kai paused and looked at the sky through the broken windows of the throne room. Night was drawing in. "However, you must spent the night here. It would do no good to return home at night." he finished. The guardians bowed lower.

"We are humbled by the offer your highness." Alister smiled. Kai nodded his head and turned to look at Brooklyn and his family. The elder white mage slowly opened his eyes and winced from the powerful headach pounding away in his head. He smiled at May-lin and Gerard as the female white mage hugged her husband tightly.

"Welcome home Brooklyn." May-lin greeted, tears slipping down her face. Brooklyn placed a hand on May-lin's head and turned to face his son.

"Gerard, we are no longer marked. When Zeus banished to the shadow realm, he no longer has any control over us." Brooklyn stated. Gerard sighed happily and hugged his father. Brooklyn closed his eyes and sighed. _We no longer have to deal with him. Finally the nightmare is over. _Brooklyn thought.

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_Thank to everyone who has reviewed so far. One more chapter to do and this story is coming to a close._


	25. Chapter 25

_This is the last chapter to __**True Light**__. (Starts crying) I loved writing this and __**Royal Blood**__ so much. (Looks round then coughs) Anyhoo, I would like to thank the following people for reviewing: _

_**Jovanni  
Birdsofprey9832  
MaxieTate8392  
SchoolBoredom  
**_  
_THANK YOU SO MUCH!_

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Fate slowly made her way through the castle, hoping to reach Alex's study room before the princess took off again. Fate smiled as this thought entered her mind. Ever since the battle between Zeus and the twins had ended, Alex and Chris had come to an agreement. Well Chris had accepted the fact that Alex was never going to change. Even with Ember in the back of mind, Alex was always going to remain as a stubborn, fun-seeking girl.

In Fate's opinion, she didn't want her best friend to change.

As Fate neared Alex's study, the hybrid wolf caught sight of said princess. She was looking out of the window, overlooking the courtyard. Fate jogged the rest of the way. "Hey Alex. Whatcha looking at?" she questioned. Alex pointed to two figures.

"Chris and Gee. They're playing that new game that Father brought from his foster realm." Alex replied. Fate glanced down to see Chris bouning an orange ball up and down a few times. He was talking to Gerard, who scratched his head a few times in confusion. It was clear he did not full understand the game. Fate looked back at Alex as the princess rested her elbow on the window sill and cradled her cheek in her hand.

"How's Brooklyn?" Fate inquried. A smile graced Alex's features.

"He's doing great. Him and May-lin are planning to move back to their house tonight." Alex informed. Fate nodded her head and continued to watch the prince and the white mage.

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"You understand now?"

Gerard nodded his head a little. "Yeah, I think." he paused. "Basketball? What kind of idiot comes up with that lame brain idea?" Gerard asked. Chris shrugged his shoulders and he threw the ball at Gerard.

"I don't know. Father says it's a big game in Earth. A lot of teams are made to play this kind of sport." Chris added. He watched Gerard throw the ball at the target. He smiled as the ball went into the hole effortlessly. Gerard ran to get the ball and pulled a face.

"People call this a sport? Hunting Yrakes is a sport." Gerard muttered and tossed the ball back to Chris. The prince caught it easily and bounced it on the floor a few times. he threw the ball from where he stood but frowned when the ball hit the rim and bounced away.

**"You missed the target."** came a sly reply from the back of Chris' mind. The prince growled under his breath.

"I think I know that Dranzer." he shot back in a whisper as he went to get the ball. The flame god smirked but said nothing more. Chris grabbed the ball and bounced it again as he made his way towards Gerard. He tossed the ball to the white mage who caught it effortless. "You asking Alex to the dance?" Chris suddenly inquired. Gerard was thankful he had his back toward his friend, as a scarlet blush crept on his face.

"Why you asking?" Gerard wondered, shooting the ball at the hoop. It missed and bounced off to the right. Chris shrugged as he watched Gerard chase after the ball.

"Just wondering that's all. I mean I'm going to ask Fate to the dance." Chris paused and scratched the back of his neck. "I hope she says yes." he muttered. Gerard rolled his eyes, his blush now gone from his face.

"She's crazy about you Chris. I know she'll say yes." he stated. An unnerving look crossed Chris' face. Gerard backed up slightly and gulped. "Chris, why are you looking at me like that?" he questioned. Chris smiled even more.

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Alister petted his horse and led the horse through the village to the stables. Once the horse was tucked away, Alister made his way back to the family shop. He pushed the door open and waited.

Nothing.

Alister frowned a little but headed to the back of the shop. He heard talking in the docking bay and decided to enter. Standing with their backs to him was Max and Emily. Max held a clipboard in his hand as Emily pointed out different items. Alister waited a little. "All the way to Assokan? They haven't done any deals with us in a long time." Max mused, scratching the back of his neck.

"I know Max, but they're paying us big for this. They want everything there by tomorrow night. I heard a storm is coming tomorrow so I want you to head out today." Emily informed. Max sighed and nodded his head.

"Can I help with anything father?" Alister inquried causing his parents to spin round. Emily squeaked with happiness and hugged her only son tightly. Alister laughed a little as his mother pulled away.

"Alister! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Emily squeaked again. Max clasped a hand on his son's shoulder.

"It's good to see you again Alister." he smiled. Alister hugged his father then his mother before looking at the stacks of boxes that needed to be shifted. He pointed to them as he looked back at his father.

"Do you need help?" he inquried with a smile. Max laughed and nodded his head. Emily smiled as she watched her two favourtie males set to work once more. In her eyes it was good to have her son back.

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Rin cast her eyes over her village and breathed deep. Someone was buring wood and it smelt great. Rin was glad to be back home. Leading her horse back to the stables, Rin then headed off to the shrine. She slowly opened the doors, but no-one was inside. Rin shrugged her shoulders and figured that both her father and uncle were meeting. The pink haired neko-jin sat down in front of a large gold alter and lit a candle. She then quickly lit an incense stick.

The smell of honey and jasmine filled the room as Rin offered her thanks to the lightning god. The door to the shrine opened causing Rin to turn round. Standing in the door way was her mother, Mariah and her uncle, Kevin. "Mama!" Rin yelled and ran towards the elder pink haired neko.

"Rin!" Mariah cried out and hugged her daughter tightly. "I have prayed to the gods everyday that you would return home. They heard my prays." Mariah cried, stroking her daughter's hair. Kevin smiled and took off to find Ray and Lee. Both mother and daughter sat on the steps of the shrine as Rin told everything to Mariah in excitment.

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Makoto sighed deeply and led his horse to the stables. The village had managed to rebuild itself while he was away. Cherry blossom fell onto the streets as Makoto made his way back home. Some of the villages greeted him excitedly and Makoto waved his own greeting in reply. When he got home, Makoto smiled.

His mother, Hillary, stood with her back facing him. She was wearing a pale blue kimono and was sweeping the garden path in a bid to sweep away the cherry blossom. She cursed to herself as more fell. "You know, that job is pretty pointless." Makoto joked. Hillary turned round and gasped. the broom hit the floor with a loud thump as she ran towards her son.

"Makoto, oh my dear boy!" she squeaked, hugging him tightly. "I prayed to Dragoon that you would return home to us." she whispered as the dojo doors opened. Tyson smiled but did not move. Just the sight of his beloved son was enough to make his smile again.


End file.
